There's not a lineup in the game that wouldn't benefit from the addition of Manny Ramirez. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of teams that could absorb his payroll, and even fewer clubhouses that could withstand his potential to rock the boat.
As such, the market for him has yet to completely develop. The Giants appear to be front-runners, and now that they're close to ridding themselves of Andruw Jones, the Dodgers seem ready to resume their pursuit. But according to SI's Jon Heyman, another team might join the mix: the Texas Rangers.
Before the rumor mill spins out of control, bear in mind that Heyman has merely stated that the Rangers "are considering a pursuit" of Manny, not that they've actually entered the race. Smart move by Heyman to hedge -- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan "we're not pursuing Manny at this time," and a team source told Yahoo's Tim Brown that signing Ramirez was "unlikely."
In other words, all signs point to Heyman being misinformed. But on the other hand ... if the Rangers are thinking about making an offer, it'd do them no good to telegraph their interest to the rest of the majors, and it's not like Tom Hicks has ever been scared by big contracts. Even though the Rangers finished 21 games in back of the Angels last year, the Angels' runs scored differential suggests Texas isn't as far behind as the reigning division champs as you might first think, especially considering the Angels have done little to improve their offense.
With several expensive contracts (Michael Young, Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla will all make eight digits this year), the Rangers are stuck in the uncomfortable middle ground of rebuilding and contending, and the addition of Ramirez just might help them make the jump in the right direction. It's risky, for sure, but it's too crazy to work.
via MLB Trade Rumors
Are the Rangers Interested in Manny Ramirez? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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