In the last two days, things have escalated in Texas such that it’s hard to imagine Michael Young starting the 2011 season with the Rangers. He’s officially requested a trade, suggested that he’s “sick” of playing for the Rangers, and stated that he feels he was misled about the team’s intentions.
But despite his eagerness to move on, the Rangers are saying they’re content to keep him on the team – and they better be, because they just lost Young’s biggest suitor.
After nearly acquiring Rangers’ infielder Michael Young in the winter meetings, after pushing toward a deal this week, the Rockies are out on on the Young, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.
The issue, surprisingly, wasn’t money, but the Rangers’ desire for a bigger name player in return from the Rockies. Earlier in the winter, the Rangers were ready to send Young to the Rockies for Eric Young Jr. while eating more than half of the $48 million remaining on his contract. Denver Post.
Talks could, of course, start back up at any time, but the Rockies seemed to be the best fit. If the Rangers are willing to eat just $20 million of the $48 million remaining on Young’s deal (as was the rumored amount in the potential Rockies trade), they can’t really expect to get back a “bigger name” than a player like Eric Young Jr. They should be thrilled that a team is will to pay Young more than $9 million per year to age, degrade, and play questionable defense.
As far as the Cubs are concerned, I still believe it’s a moot question, as the money isn’t there. Much ink has been spilled about Young’s partial no-trade clause, which allows him to veto deals to all but 8 teams. The Cubs are not on that list of 8, so folks say he can’t be traded to them – well, no, that’s not correct. It just means that he must approve a trade to the Cubs (or another team not on his list). Given the circumstances, I’m thinking he’d be pretty flexible about approving a deal that gets him out of Texas, and into a starting role.
But again: highly unlikely to involve the Cubs due to the money issue.
The only scenario that makes any sense for the Cubs is Soriano straight up for Young. The Rangers would be getting the illusion of the big DH bat they are seeking. The Cubs would be able to play Young at second this year, and have something to fall back on at third if Ramirez walks at the end of the year. It is however hard to imagine that the clubs would be able to get both players to sign off on waiving no trade clauses.