First of all, it should be noted that amidst all the talk about the Texas Rangers not doing enough and staying quiet on trade deadline day Wednesday, the team did acquire the biggest commodity on the trade market this year in right-handed starting pitcher Matt Garza, who they got from the Chicago Cubs for prospects Mike Olt and C.J. Edwards as well as Justin Grimm and a player to be named later, presumably Neil Ramirez.
That's a big price to pay, but the Rangers got the biggest available name more than a week before the deadline and got two quality starts out of him prior to Wednesday's non-waiver trade deadline.
So, no, the Rangers did a lot more than "nothing," actually.
But when it came to offense, which many feel the Rangers needed to address, and rightfully so, the Rangers were quiet. And can you really blame them?
Jon Daniels spoke on KTCK 1310 AM The Ticket on Thursday morning and shed some light on the subject, saying the asking price for all of the available bats was much steeper than they were willing to pay for a bunch of bats who aren't seen as "impact bats," like a Giancarlo Stanton or even Michael Cuddyer would have been.
Alex Rios isn't that inspiring, neither is Michael Morse. The Giants asking price for rental Hunter Pence was reportedly way too high, as was the Mets' price for Marlon Byrd.
So the Rangers' front office made the right call to stay quiet on Wednesday, but their work isn't over.
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Teams can still use the waiver trade market to acquire help over the next month and there are some names out there that could be put on waivers since none of the rumored bats were dealt.
Watch out for Josh Willingham, who the Rangers have had interest in for quite some time but is currently on the disabled list at the wrong time, as the Rangers surely weren't going to make a trade for an injured player.
But Willingham is close to his return and would fit into the Rangers' plan as a right-handed corner outfielder who could either play left field to bench the struggling David Murphy or replace Nelson Cruz in right field if he is suspended for his alleged involvement in the Biogenesis clinic.
Willingham was DL'ed on July 1 and was hitting .224 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs with a .356 on-base percentage. Willingham has never been a high-average guy, but he gets on base via the walk and has a lot of power in parks that aren't hitters' havens like Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is.
In 2012, for instance, Willingham hit 35 bombs and drove in 110 runs for Minnesota, one of his five career 20-plus homer seasons.
But if the Rangers don't get him or anyone else, they can still compete with the pitching staff they've assembled. Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Matt Garza give them a really formidable three-man rotation. Martin Perez has been pretty good as a back-end guy and both Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison are expected back within the month. Oh, and that bullpen? It's one of the league's best.
While we're used to big-boppin' hitters in the Rangers lineup, we might need to get used to more 3-2 and 2-1 games around here. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
