The Texas Rangers have been serious players at the MLB trade deadline since Jon Daniels became the club's general manager, and this year will be no different. Let's take a look at a possible Rangers target for the July 31 deadline.
Target: Norichika Aoki, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
There's no question the Rangers are looking for a right-handed bat at the MLB trade deadline, but this one is a bit of a surprise.
But apparently, the Rangers are showing interest in the Brewers outfielder as Milwaukee prepares to dump any sellable parts they might have, including starting pitcher and Fort Worth native Yovani Gallardo. The Rangers have also shown interest in Gallardo, but according to reports from Fox Sports' Jon Morosi, they have also expressed interest in Aoki while scouting Gallardo.
There's talk the Rangers might try to pull off a big deal with the Brewers to land both players.
Not sure what kind of upgrade Aoki would be as he's basically Leonys Martin but not quite as good, with a .300 batting average, four homers and 19 RBIs to go with 10 stolen bases and a pretty awful 10 caught-stealings, making him 10-for-20 on stolen base attempts this year. Yuck.
Honestly, not really seeing what the Rangers are seeing in Aoki. He's a nice player, but again, he's basically the same as Martin with a batting average a few points higher and not nearly as good of a base-stealer. The Rangers need a power bat, and Aoki isn't that.
