Potential Targets: Andre Ethier
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Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier celebrate following a home run against the San Diego Padres in the home opener at Petco Park on April 5, 2012.
Target: Andre Ethier, OF
Type of move: Trade
2012 stats: Hit .284, 20 home runs, 89 RBIs, 36 doubles, .351 on-base percentage
Ethier would be a capable replacement for Hamilton production-wise. No one the Rangers get will duplicate what Hamilton can do at the plate when he's healthy, but Ethier is an above-average big-league hitter and he would also fill a void of being a left-handed bat in the Rangers' right-heavy lineup.
The tricky part about Ethier would be how to get him in a Rangers uniform. He's under contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers until 2018, when the Dodgers have a $17.5 million option on him with a $2.5 million buyout. That's quite a bit of dough for a 30-year-old over the next six years, and it would take some big pieces in return.
There were rumors last week of a deal that would send shortstop Elvis Andrus and minor-league pitcher Neil Ramirez to the Dodgers for Ethier and top pitching prospect Zach Lee, a McKinney native, to the Rangers along with some other pieces. It's doubtful the Rangers would make that move, no matter how much they like Ethier and Lee because to deal Andrus, the Rangers would have a hard time selling that to fans unless it brought back a true ace pitcher, not a potential ace he won't be ready for the bigs until 2014.
