The face of the Rangers for the better part of his 13-year major league career, Young leads the franchise in games played, hits, and doubles. While he was not drafted by the Rangers, Young has never played a big league game for another club. He joined Texas via trade in 2000.

Apr 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Michael Young in action at third against the New York Yankees at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Now 36, Young is in the final year of a five-year, $80 million contract that will pay him $16 million in 2013. The Phillies will be picking up only $6 million of that tab, with Texas not only paying the remaining $10 million, but also kicking in an extra $1.2 million to Young as compensation for waiving his no-trade rights. That sum accounts for the difference in state taxes in Pennsylvania versus Texas. As a 10-and-5 player, Young had the right to veto any trade. Many times in situations like these, especially when the veteran player is in the final year of his deal, the player will request a contract extension in order to agree to the trade, but Young reportedly informed the Phillies that he didn’t desire an extension.

The players going back to Texas are talented, but almost inconsequential to this trade. Philadelphia had a gaping hole at third base and a barren free agent market meant they’d have to either severely overpay in hopes of landing Kevin Youkilis or settle for someone like Jack Hannahan or Brandon Inge. Instead, they went out and filled a need with a still useful player and convinced the Rangers to pay the vast majority of the contract.

In Lindblom, Texas gets a right hander who struck out nearly a batter per inning last year, but also walked 4.4 per nine innings. He also allowed an alarmingly high number of home runs (13 in just 71 innings split between the Dodgers and Phillies). In 2011, however, Lindblom worked 29.2 big league innings and did not allow a single home run. He is a fly-ball pitcher though, so he could struggle with long balls in Texas, but he would have in Philly as well, so that’s no huge loss for Philadelphia.

Bonilla is a 22=year-old who has been ranked as high as the 12th-best prospect within the Phillies organization. In four minor league seasons since coming to the United States, Bonilla has posted a 2.50 ERA in over 280 innings. His strikeout numbers have improved as he’s gotten older as well, He struck over 12 batter per nine last season while making 31 relief appearances across two levels of the minors.

In Young, the Phillies get a professional hitter who had a terrible season in 2012 and who is most certainly on the downside of his career. While it’s true he is just one year removed from leading the American League with 213 hits and posting a .338/.380/.474 line, his power numbers have drastically fallen off in the past two years. He’s not a guy who will likely regain his elite hitting skills at this age, but he is probably better than the performance he showed last year and will likely be motivated by a change of scenery.

The Phillies filled a need and added an everyday player by trading two relief arms, one of which is a minor leaguer. I thought Ruben Amaro Jr. paid too steep a price when he traded starting pitching for Ben Revere, but he redeemed himself with this move. Even without considering the money, if Young is only average this was a good deal for the Phillies.

According to three major league sources, the Rangers were in advanced talks with Philadelphia about a deal for the 36-year-old Young that would include the Rangers eating more than half of his remaining $16 million in salary. The Rangers would likely receive a young major league reliever along with a lower-level prospect.

Image: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Young is a seven-time all-star and has experience playing all over the infield, but the Phillies would plan to install him as their everyday third baseman. Though he has spent the past two years as a utility infielder and DH, Young was a primary third baseman in 2009 and 2010. He is signed through 2013 and the Rangers, it seems, have been in discussions about trading him every off-season for the past several years.

He’s been one of the more consistent hitters in baseball throughout his 13 year career, at one point putting together five consecutive seasons of at least 200 hits, but his 2012 campaign was well below average at the plate. Young posted his worst slash line in a decade at .277/.312/.370.

There certainly is the very real possibility that age is simply catching up to his, but Young is also just one year removed from an eighth-place finish in the MVP vote stemming from a league-best 213 hits and .854 OPS in 2011. Though his home run power has rapidly vanished, Young did collect 58 extra-base hits in 2011. That number fell all the way to 38 last season and his slugging percentage dropped more than 100 points as well.

The Phillies have employed Placido Polanco as their third baseman for the past three seasons, so they’re no strangers to having a someone who lacks the power that position is traditionally known for. Young has full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player, but indications are that he would approve a trade to Philly, notes Jim Salisbury.

If they can get the Rangers to eat as much of Young’s salary as Grant indicates, this might not be a bad deal for the Phillies. He’s not an elite third baseman, but the rest f the market is very thin and they’d likely have to commit more dollars and more years to someone like Kevin Youkilis and probably get similar production.

This is a team that isn’t far away from being the World Champs (in fact, they are a Nelson Cruz misplay from having won it all two seasons ago) and a team whose window has no business closing this soon. Yet, early in the off-season, it feels like the team president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels think the Rangers are in need of a serious makeover. I’m just not sure why.

Heading into the Winter, Texas looks pretty well set in their pitching staff. They’ll need to replace Mike Adams as the set-up man, as he is almost a given to leave via free agency, and they could use one starter, if only so they have insurance against Derek Holland‘s late-season regression. Despite the relative lack of need, Texas seems intent on bolstering their staff, which is fine; you can never have too much pitching, especially in Arlington.

Napoli has crushed 54 homers in two seasons with the Rangers. Image: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

Baseball’s most vaunted lineup has played at Rangers Ballpark for at least the past few years, but unless Daniels and company do something significant, that may change in 2013. The Rangers don’t anticipate re-signing either Josh Hamilton or Mike Napoli, which takes away a former AL MVP (who will finish in the top-5 again this year) and a guy who is one season removed from a .320/.414/.631 line primarily as a catcher. These types of offensive talents don’t just grow on trees, yet here are the Rangers willingly watching as not one, but both hitters depart for greener pastures.

While you can almost understand the willingness to wave goodbye to Hamilton — his contract demands don’t match what the Rangers know of his health — allowing Napoli to walk seems misguided. Even if the Rangers don’t view Napoli as a full-time catcher anymore, or even a part-time option there, his bat still plays at first base or DH and Texas isn’t flush with production at those positions.

In 2012, the Rangers first basemen combined for a .701 OPS. Their designated hitters fared only slightly better at .758. Napoli, even as he regressed from his monster 2011, posted an OPS of .821 and slugged 24 home runs. Now, Michael Young‘s putrid season is the cause of much of those bad numbers listed at first and DH, but Young isn’t getting any, uh, younger and we may have seen his last best seasons at the plate.

Earlier in the off-season, Daniels was said to be courting Red Sox DH David Ortiz, before Ortiz re-upped with Boston, so clearly he cognizant of his club’s need for offense going forward. If he knows going in that there is virtually no shot of keeping Hamilton, why is he being so cavalier about allowing Napoli to leave as well?

The Rangers have Geovany Soto and now Buster Olney says they’re interested in Russell Martin. If this were the National League and it were 2008, those two all-stars would make one helluva tandem behind the plate. Unfortunately, neither Soto nor Martin has been much of a hitter in the past few years and even in a hitter’s paradise like Texas, I don’t see that changing soon.

Guys like Young, Mitch Moreland, and Soto are decent at best hitters and Texas is in serious danger of losing a pair of elite bats. Without Hamilton, does Adrian Beltre get the same opportunities? Does Cruz? Probably not. The Rangers simply must make a play to bolster their lineup going forward. If that means trading away Elvis Andrus to gain a bat like Justin Upton, they should be open to the idea.

Otherwise, that pitching staff is going to have to be better than ever to get the Rangers back to the playoffs in 2013.

Ortiz would look good in the heart of any lineup. Image: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

Ortiz is still negotiating a potential contract to stay in Boston, but as late as Thursday, there was some serious doubt whether that deal could be completed before the exclusive window runs out on Saturday morning. The deal would be for something in the neighborhood of $25 million over two years and the two sides are working toward getting that deal done. Certainly, the Rangers’ interest makes this negotiation a bit more urgent for Red Sox GM Ben Cherington. Ortiz was limited to just 383 plate appearances in 2012, but did some impressive work by posting 23 homers and an OPS of 1.026.

For the Rangers’ part, Ortiz would serve to replace much of the offensive production should they wind up losing Josh Hamilton to free agency, and I think Texas is more than prepared to watch Hamilton walk away. On the chance they do retain Hamilton, Ortiz still makes a ton of sense for Texas.

Michael Young served as the club’s primary DH last season and posted the worst year of his career in doing so. Couple Young’s lack of production with the possibility of losing Hamilton (not to mention fellow free agent Mike Napoli) and the Rangers could be considered to have a fairly significant need for another hitter. If they were to land Ortiz, Young would be limited to utility work only, which likely wouldn’t sit well with the 13-year veteran. Young, 36, has one year left on his contract, which will pay him $16 million.

Now that the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season has concluded, it’s safe to look back on a lot of things even if the playoffs don’t begin to unravel their web until several hours from now. We can pour over numbers and results until we’re comfortable analyzing a team’s performance or exactly what steps a specific player took to improve or regress. When you’re a baseball fan, there’s always something to dissect, and as we wait for tonight’s wild card play-in games to materialize, somewhat trivial dissection seems like a pretty good plan.

Based on his 2012 numbers, the events that led to this photo probably resulted in Michael Young being out. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

There is always plenty of discussion during and after the season regarding which players may deserve MVP or Cy Young candidacy, which makes sense considering how fun it is to argue one player’s merits over another’s. Plus, there’s the whole “wow, how is that guy having this kind of year” narrative that often leads us down a long and winding road of detective work. Well, we’re sure to trade heavily in those posts soon, but for now I’m going to take the low road and point out the very worst players in baseball circa 2012, the players who had seasons so terrible they really can’t be ignored. Think anti-peak era Yuniesky Betancourt or Pedro Feliz. As usual, if I’m using WAR you can give the credit to FanGraphs.

Seven different position players managed to cost their teams victories per WAR, a feat that simply isn’t all that easy to pull off. Perhaps even more surprisingly, each and every one of the names you are about to read range from fairly recognizable to downright newspaper worthy. I’ll start in descending order so that the true Worst of the Worst is revealed last. It’s more dramatic that way, like an awards show!

Justin Smoak/Seattle/-0.1 WAR 

Not that long ago in the inner circle among minor league prospects, a trade from Texas and a gradual decay in terms of approach have created a version of Justin Smoak that not only didn’t become a superstar but became something of a liability. Smoak spent his 2012 racking up 535 PA worth of yuck, hitting .217/.290/.364 and posting a .287 wOBA. It’s fairly uncommon that a player can hit 19 homers and be this inept. Smoak turns 26 in December, and it seems like the corner isn’t going to get turned.

Jesus Montero/Seattle/-0.2 WAR

It looks like we’ll stay put in Seattle for our next puddle of terrible, as Jesus Montero simply didn’t do anything well except for pop the occasional home run. Remember when that Michael Pineda-Montero deal was such a huge news story? It seems like a distant, hazy memory now. Montero had difficulty not hacking aimlessly, as his .260/.298/.386 season line reflects. This approach didn’t work well at Safeco, and the young slugger added to his deficit by struggling defensively and on the basepaths (when he managed to find himself on base, that is).

Delmon Young/Minnesota/-0.7 WAR

Delmon Young, in a season once again marked by an embarrassing legal incident, was quite pathetic on the field as well. Young once again showed his desire to swing at every single pitch he can in an attempt to avoid a walk, hitting .267/.296/.411 with a 3.3% walk rate. Young was hardly adequate at the little things either, as his baserunning wasn’t highly thought of and his work in the outfield continued to resemble that of a man whose feet were already trapped in cement blocks.

Eric Hosmer/Kansas City/-1.1 WAR

For me, Eric Hosmer is the most surprising name on this list. I, like many, had Hosmer pegged to truly begin his ascent to stardom in 2012. I wouldn’t have been this surprised if he’d put together a down-ballot MVP season. As is too often the case in Kansas City, things just didn’t work out immediately. Hosmer hit a gross .232/.304/.359 and was panned at first base by UZR, though first base defensive metrics are a bit sketchy. At any rate, production like that can’t happen at first base (or really anywhere), so hopefully Hosmer will right his ship in 2013.

Brennan Boesch/Detroit/-1.2 WAR

There have been moments over the course of Brennan Boesch‘s career in which he has flirted with converting a few baseball fans over to his side, but none of those moments came in 2012. Boesch hit a depressing .240/.286/.372 in 503 PA, and he did so while floundering with the glove. His 76 wRC+ is the lowest figure on this list so far, though it will be topped by our Worst of the Worst winner shortly.

Michael Young/Texas/-1.3 WAR

Michael Young has frequently enjoyed a celebrated career in which his fellow peers have called him the most underrated player in the game. He’s had some valuable seasons, the best of which was his stint as an offensively-minded shortstop putting up a .389 wOBA in 2005. He’s surged back from the abyss multiple times, and he was worth 3.7 WAR as recently as last season. Getting ready to turn 36, it looks like Father Time may have finally claimed Young, as the infielder hit a paltry .277/.312/.370 in 651 PA, and he did this as a third baseman in an unquestionable hitter’s park. Young’s glove, never a strong suit of his, has failed him as well, and as a result he was easily one of the least valuable players in baseball over the course of 2012.

Jeff Francoeur/ Kansas City/-1.3 WAR

Even as he’s posted some respectable seasons in terms of raw counting stats, Francoeur has never been a favorite of the sabermetric crowd thanks to his flailing ways and uninspired approach at the plate. Things seemed to have turned around a bit for Frenchy, as he was able to ride a batting average wave to a career-best .346 wOBA in 2011 en route to being worth 2.9 WAR. Well, improvement didn’t turn out to be a trend for the outfielder, as Francoeur hit .235/.287/.378 with a .280 wOBA and a disgusting 73 wRC+ in 2012. Maybe this is just UZR getting loopy in a somewhat small sample size, but Francoeur was also a liability defensively, something that had never really been the case before.

If Brian’s writing strikes your fancy, read his work on StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @vaughanbasepct.

Led by a monster 8-RBI performance from slugger Nelson Cruz, the Texas Rangers blew out the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3. Both teams are playing well this season, with the Rangers still at the top of our site’s power rankings. Adrian Beltre, Michael Young, and Mitch Moreland all had three hits each to supplement Cruz’s four-hit ballgame. Elvis Andrus finished with three walks, Cruz homered, and Josh Hamilton hit a shot in the second for his 19th of the year. Rangers starter Derek Holland shut down the Jays over 7.1 innings with five hits, two runs, and a walk allowed to go with nine strikeouts. Brandon Morrow gave up six earned runs, five hits, and three walks and got only two hitters out. (more…)

(more…)

That’s the word many are using to describe last night’s 4-2 Rangers victory over the Cardinals in game five of the World Series.  Unbelievable that the Cardinals could make not one but two major blunders in the span of a few innings under the leadership of future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa.  What gets lost in this is Mike Napoli playing the role of hero for the second night in a row, coming up big when the Rangers needed him most. (more…)