The Rangers are going to be on the hunt for an outfielder (preferably a CF), a backup infielder and a righty reliever before next Sunday’s trade deadline. Taylor Teagarden, Chris Davis, Craig Gentry, Julio Borbon and Arthur Rhodes give the Rangers major league ready ammo to get deals done. Hunter Pence and Ryan Ludwick are likely on the Rangers’ radar with the idea of moving Josh Hamilton back to CF. I don’t think that’s they way the Rangers really want to go though. B.J. Upton, Melky Cabrera, Coco Crisp, Marlon Byrd, David DeJesus and Angel Pagan would allow Hamilton to stay in LF, as they are the best CF’s available this week. The Rangers also were interested in Carlos Beltran but he wants to stay in the National League. The Rangers are looking at guys like Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles, Blake DeWitt , Mike Aviles and Angel Sanchez to help out the bench. Frank Francisco, Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, Jason Frasor, Koji Uehara, Grant Balfour, Kerry Wood and Matt Lindstrom are the kind of righty relievers the Rangers want to trade for. They are looking for a legit set-up man type that could close when Neftali Feliz needs a break. I think the Rangers are going to be a much better team on August 1st than they are right now and that should be scary to the rest of the American League going forward.

The Rangers have added Bengie Molina and Cliff Lee in solid trades the last couple of weeks but they still have one glaring hole and it’s at first base. With that in mind I would be placing a call to the D-Backs with the idea of going after Adam LaRoche. LaRoche is a notorious second half hitter and he would be a outstanding fit in the Rangers’ lineup. I would definitely being willing to deal Chris Davis, Pedro Strop and Taylor Teagarden to the D-Backs for LaRoche. Of course the D-Backs would also have to send cash to cover LaRoche’s paycheck which would be why I would include Davis in the deal. The D-Backs would make that deal in a heartbeat and it would make the offense even better for the Rangers going forward.

The Rangers are 48-34 on the season which has them in first place in the A.L. West, 3.5 games ahead of the Angels. The Rangers only have one weakness and it seems to be in the starting rotation. The Rangers will likely be after Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Dan Haren but so will a lot of other teams. If the Rangers can’t get one of the Big Three they will likely turn to the second tier in an effort to find help. Jeremy Guthrie, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, Jason Vargas, Ricky Nolasco, Ted Lilly, Brett Myers and Edwin Jackson could all interest the Rangers. The Rangers have the prospects to get any of the pitchers mentioned here but it takes two to tango.

It appears that the White Sox and Rangers have been talking about a trade involving A.J. Pierzynski. Pierzynski’s will be a 10/5 player in early June so the White Sox will likely speed up trying to deal him. That means the Rangers could probably get him for Taylor Teagarden and either Doug Mathis or Dustin Nippert. I would make the trade if I were running the Rangers as catcher has been a black hole for the team so far this season and Pierzynski would be a nice upgrade at a very reasonable price.

The Rangers want to move one of their three young catchers for some quality relief pitching. With that in mind they should be calling the Blue Jays who have a big need behind the plate. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Brandon Boggs, Pedro Strop and Joaquin Arias would likely net the Rangers Scott Downs and Jeremy Accardo or Brandon League. Both teams would have to make this trade if it were offered. The Rangers would have an awesome bullpen if they could get their hands on two of those relievers from the Jays. This would also help out the Jays big time as Saltalamacchia or Teagarden would be the starting catcher for them from day #1. Boggs would either platoon in right with Travis Snider or he would be the #4 outfielder. Joaquin Arias could either start at shortstop or he would be the utility infielder for the Jays. Strop would replace Accardo or League in the pen. This makes almost too much sense to actually happen.

The Rangers have some key pieces that they could move to acquire some pitching help. A lot of teams have been calling the Rangers about Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia so they will likely move one of them before Thursday. The Rangers would require a pitcher to use on the major league staff from the day he arrived in Texas and a little bit more. Marlon Byrd and Frank Catalanotto would be nice upgrades for the Mets in the outfield but the Mets would likely have to give the Rangers an arm like Joe Smith to get them. Hank Blalock is also a very good piece for a contending team like the Twins who have a need at 3B. Blalock will likely bring the biggest return of any of the players mentioned in this article as the Rangers’ would net at least 1 top prospect for him and maybe more.