This story says that the Rangers are interested in bringing in Luis Gonzalez. Here’s what the article says specifically.
Texas, which recently fired manager Buck Showalter and has not hired a replacement, appears to be interested in Gonzalez not only as a left fielder and designated hitter but also as a clubhouse stabilizer.
Left fielder, eh? Assuming that is true, I guess we can forget Carlos Lee. Not that I expected him back anyway. I would have thought Gonzo would have been brought in before Buck Showalter was let go. I don’t really have a problem with Gonzo, but I would rather them bring back David Dellucci, who would fill the same role more or less. Gonzalez’ 2006 numbers were .271/.352/.444. I’d rather have something stronger than that. Like Dellucci’s 2006 numbers of .292/.369/.530. :)
It’s kind of interesting, as the most solid outfield player we have at the moment is Nelson Cruz. Right now, our outfield:
- Carlos Lee – I’d be stunned if he was back.
- Gary Matthews – Filed for FA. It’s a question as to whether he’ll be back, but I want him back.
- Nelson Cruz – Under contract. Most stable OF we have (contractually), oddly enough
- Mark DeRosa – Could probably do a permanent OF position, its’ a question whether he’ll be back either.
That leaves us with holes all over the place. Yeah, there’s probably some options in the minors, but I’m not sure if the fan base wants to put up with a 2007 outfield where the “other guy” we got in the Kevin Mench / CoCo Cordero trade is our player with the most major league tenure. I think at least one of our OF FA needs to return. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s Matthews, but I don’t have anything real to base that on. I’m just “gut feeling” here. Given how my playoff predictions went, that’s probably not worth anything.
One of my favorite sites has lists of free agents for left field, center field, and right field.
Hey, Barry Bonds is looking for a job. Seriously, if we “import” a left fielder, I’d rather it be Alfonso Soriano.