The Rangers have acquired lefty starter Matt Harrison and lefty reliever Beau Jones to complete the Mark Teixeira trade.  Harrison was the Braves #3 rated prospect coming into the season according to Baseball America.  Harrison has started 20 games in AA ball so far this season and he was 5-7 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  In 116.2 innings this season he has allowed 118 hits, walked 34 batters and whiffed 78.  Beau Jones is a 20 year old lefty who was 5-0 with 3 saves, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 26 games (1 start).  He has thrown 56.1 innings and he has allowed 48 hits, walked 26 batters and whiffed 49.  This was quite a haul by the Rangers as their future now appears much brighter than it did only 24 hours ago.

The Rangers have traded Eric Gagne to the Red Sox for lefty starting pitcher Kason Gabbard and outfielder David Murphy and Engel Beltre.  Gagne had a strong season for the Rangers this year as he was 2-0 with 16 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 34 games.  Gagne has thrown 33.1 innings this season and he allowed only 23 hits and walked 12 batters while whiffing 29.  The Rangers will likely replace Gagne with a committee approach until Akinori Otsuka is ready to return from the DL.

Kason Gabbard will likely move right into the Rangers starting rotation.  He started 7 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He has tossed 41 innings this year and he only has allowed 28 hits, walked 18 batters and whiffed 29.  25 year old lefty swinging David Murphy will also probably join the Rangers soon and get some playing time in the outfield.  He has played in 100 games in AAA ball this season and he was 112 for 400 (.280 avg, .769 OPS) with 50 runs, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Murphy was ranked as the Red Sox #15 prospect in their minor league system and 17 year old Engel Beltre was ranked as their #17 prospect.  The lefty swinging Beltre has played in 33 Rookie League games this season and he was 26 for 121 (.217 avg, .728 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  This looks like another nice haul for the Rangers.

The Rangers have traded 1B Mark Teixeira and lefty reliever Ron Mahay to the Atlanta Braves for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus, righty starter Neftali Feliz and a player to be named later.  Teixeira had to go because he had made it known that he was not happy in Texas and that he was going to leave as a free agent after the 2008 season.  He played in 78 games this season for the Rangers and he was 85 for 286 (.297 avg, .921 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers and 49 RBIs.  In 4.5 seasons with the Rangers Teixeira played in 693 games and he was 746 for 2,632 (.283 avg, .901 OPS) with 426 runs scored, 153 homers and 499 RBIs.  Mahay pitched in 28 games for the Rangers this season and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 2.77 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  He has thrown 39 innings this season and he has allowed 33 hits, walked 21 batters and whiffed 32.

The Rangers got themselves a pretty healthy haul for Teixeira and Mahay.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia will likely replace Gerald Laird as the Rangers starting catcher from day #1.  He was ranked as the Braves best prospect in their entire minor league system before the season started.  He played in 47 games for the Braves this season and he was 40 for 141 (.284 avg, .744 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs.  Elvis Andrus is an 18 year old shortstop who was ranked as the #2 prospect in the Braves entire minor league system according to Baseball America.  Andrus has played in 99 games in A-ball this season and he was 94 for 385 (.244 avg, .665 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 37 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.  Neftali Feliz is a 19 year old righty starter who was ranked as the #18 prospect in the Braves system according to Baseball America.  Feliz has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in the Rookie League and he is 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  In 26.1 innings Feliz has allowed only 16 hits, walked 12 batters and whiffed 28.

The firesale of the Texas Rangers has officially begun with the trade of Kenny Lofton to the Indians for Single-A catcher Max Ramirez.  Lofton played great for the Rangers this season as he played in 84 games and he went 96 for 317 (.303 avg, .818 OPS).  Lofton scored 62 runs, whacked 7 homers, drove in 23 runs and swiped 21 bases for the Rangers.  Max Ramirez is a fine looking hitter but he’s likely a couple of years away from entering the major leagues.  The 22 year old righty swinger has played in 77 A-Ball games and he is 84 for 277 (.303 avg, .923 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 12 homers and 62 RBIs.  This was just the first of many moves that will likely happen by next Tuesday’s trade deadline.

The Rangers finally figured out that Robinson Tejada wasn’t going to turn his season around at the major league level so they sent him to the minor leagues.  Tejada started 19 games this season for the Rangers and he was 5-9 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.  In 95.1 innings this season Tejada allowed 110 hits, 17 homers, walked 60 batters and whiffed 69.  He could return at some point to the Rangers later this season if he shows progress in the minor leagues.  Lefty John Rheinecker will replace Tejada in the rotation.  He has started 1 game this season for the Rangers and he has pitched 3 innings and he has allowed 7 hits, 4 earned runs, walked 4 batters and whiffed 1.

The Rangers have placed Akinori Otsuka on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right forearm.  He has pitched in 34 games this season for the Rangers and he is 2-1 with 4 saves, a 2.51 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.  In 32.1 innings Otsuka has allowed 26 hits, walked 9 batters and whiffed 23.  The Rangers will miss him as he is an outstanding setup man.  The Rangers have recalled Scott Feldman from the minors to replace Otsuka in the bullpen.  Feldman has pitched in 21 games this season and he is 1-2 with a 6.67 ERA and a 2.01 WHIP.  Feldman has pitched 28.1 innings this season and he has allowed 34 hits, walked 23 batters and whiffed 15.

Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, Kameron Loe and Jamey Wright have all been awful so far this season.  The Rangers will not get any better as a team unless these 5 guys get their act together and soon.  Kevin Millwood is making a lot of money for the Rangers and he’s not giving them much of a return for their investment.  He is 6-7 with a 6.16 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP so far this season.  Millwood has allowed 103 hits and 13 homers in only 80.1 innings this season.  Vicente Padilla has been horrible this season too as he is 3-8 with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  Padilla is currently on the DL and that could be the reason for his poor pitching this season.  Padilla has allowed 111 hits in 80.2 innings this season and that needs to change.  Brandon McCarthy is 4-6 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP this season.  His pitches have been getting up too high in the strike zone and batters have be ripping the ball off of him.  If McCarthy can get the ball down in the strike zone and stay healthy he could rebound with a strong 2nd half to the season.  Kameron Loe has pitched better lately but he still is only 5-6 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP so far this season.  Jamey Wright has missed most of the season as he has been injured.  He is 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP so far this season.  He will need to improve on that performance to keep his starting job.

The Rangers bullpen has been outstanding this season and many teams will be calling them in the next couple weeks with trade offers for Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka.  Gagne has been great so far this season as he is 2-0 with 12 saves, a 1.32 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.  Otsuka is 2-1 with 4 saves, a 2.51 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP this season as he’s been the setup man for the Rangers for most of the season.  Lefty Ron Mahay has been good this season as he is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.  Mahay has teamed with fellow lefty C.J. Wilson to give the Rangers a potent pair against lefty hitters.  Wilson is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP this season.  Joaquin Benoit (3-2, 1 save, 3.13 ERA), Willie Eyre (2-3, 1 save, 3.64 ERA) and Frank Francisco (1-0, 3.78 ERA) have all been contributors to the Rangers bullpen this season and they need them to keep up the good work in the 2nd half.

Frank Catalanotto and Gerald Laird have been the most disappointing players to the Rangers this season.  Laird was given the starting catcher job and he hasn’t rewarded their faith in him.  Laird is only hitting .230 with 26 runs scored, 5 homers and 27 RBIs so far this season.  It would be different if Laird had done a good job of working with the pitching staff but that hasn’t been the case this season.  Frank Catalanotto has had a career based on his high average bat but he hasn’t been hitting that well this season.  Catalanotto is only hitting .230 with 26 runs scored, 6 homers and 22 RBIs this season.  Look for Catalanotto to rebound in the 2nd half of the season with the bat.

Marlon Byrd, Mark Teixeira, Kenny Lofton, Michael Young, Hank Blalock and Sammy Sosa all had decent first halves.  Sammy Sosa came to the Rangers with No Expectations and the Rangers have benefitted as well as Sosa himself.  Sosa is only hitting .245 this season but he has scored 35 runs, ripped 14 homers and driven in 63 runs.  It will be interesting to see if Sosa can keep it up.  Kenny Lofton continues to amaze despite his advanced age.  He is hitting .301 with 53 runs scored, 6 homers, 20 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  He will likely get moved to a contender in the next couple of weeks.  Mark Teixeira has been really good when healthy as he is hitting .302 this season with 41 runs scored, 12 homers and 41 RBIs in only 222 atbats.  Many teams are interested in trading for Teixeira so the Rangers phones will be busy the next couple of weeks.  Michael Young started the season really slowly but he has turned it on lately and has made his numbers respectable for the season. Young is hitting .288 with 45 runs scored, 4 homers and 50 RBIs.  Marlon Byrd has been a godsend for the Rangers this season.  Byrd is hitting an amazing .378 with 23 runs scored, 3 homers and 25 RBIs in only 143 atbats this season.  The Rangers hope Byrd can keep up the good work in the 2nd half of the year.  Hank Blalock was playing well before he got injured.  Blalock was hitting .285 with 20 runs, 5 homers and 16 RBIs in only 144 atbats this season.  The Rangers could certainly use a return to health by Hank Blalock.