Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney

if Kazmir is available i think more teams then just the Rangers will go after him

I don't think they are asking for all prospects, i believe they will ask for above average prospects and a good impact hitter in a trade.

I don't really understand the Rangers trade speculation here ... Halladay, Greinke, Kazmir? I'm not sure the Rangers are an ace away from the playoffs. I agree that the Rangers are in a good position to make a move considering their depth, but they should consider developing that talent into big league contributors before they start discussing blockbuster trades.

Why not stay with the Rays, though, and talk about Andy Sonnastine or Edwin Jackson? Those are the guys that could really help the Rangers, would be expendable by the Rays, and would come at an affordable price. 2 or 3 trades like that would put the Rangers in a good position to improve while leaving spots free for their up-and-coming prospects.

Oh - and AJ - the Rangers aren't talking blockbuster trades. These rampant, outlandish rumors have been coming from the D/FW press and from bloggers.

The team has maintained a consistent stance that they will trade only for young pitching, not aging veterans, and will only trade from their strengths. And they have maintained that they aren't going to touch their cache of prospects unless someone pretty special is involved.

I think we can expect to see either Salty or Laird moved in the winter meetings... Beyond that - it's pure speculation.

You can't blame the writers around here, I suppose, since this team is so bad and there's nothing much else to write about from now to the end of the season.

J the Dizzolla,

I think you meant to say the rays have "arguably" the best systems. The A's and Rangers are up their too.

Oh, and ChiSoxKilla 23 IS right.

And Ari-

That was a little on the insecure side. J's point had to do with why the Rays won't deal Kazmir and yet you felt the need to nitpick about his choice of words? C'mon man. Isn't it enough that YOU know how good Oakland's farm is. Why post a retort?

"J the Dizzolla,

I think you meant to say the rays have "arguably" the best systems. The A's and Rangers are up their too."

Oh no!

He didn't mention Boston either, I guess nobody think their farm system is worth a damn

Calm down bro..

Okay - how's this: Baseball America currently has TB as the #1 farm system.

Re: trade speculations involving Rangers... Evan Grant of the Dallas News actually published a story last year where he speculated that LA would send Kershaw, Loney and Ethier in exchange for Tex. Makes sense, right? Kershaw is from DFW...

All this despite the fact that at the top of LA's untouchable list is Kershaw, and that no actual deal was ever brought up between the two sides.

So we here in DFW are used to this kind of thing. Rest easy, Rays fans... you'll have Kazmir for years to come, no doubt. Let Newberg have his fun... if we can't have a guy like Kazmir, at least we can dream about what it would be like...

Re: Kazmir

"He's a bargain for at least 2 more years, and under their control for multiple years - 4 or 5."

"He's a relative bargain and under long-term team control..."

Well, there's the thing--he was arbitration-eligible for the first time this past offseason, and it was widely speculated that the Rays would be signing him to a long-term contract to buy out his remaining years of arbitration eligibility.

It didn't happen, and he's not really under "long-term team control" anymore. Contrary to what J the Dizzolla said, Kazmir will have 4 years and change of MLB service time after the 2008 season concludes. That's 2 more offseasons that the Rays can either:

a)Work out 1-year contracts with him, avoiding arbitration.

b)Go to arbitration with him.

c)Negotiate a long-term contract with him.

d)Trade him for a farily big haul(and I think the haul gets smaller if you wait to trade him after the 2009 season).

Hard to believe, but he *is* that far along to free agency--the end of 2010. The clock is ticking for the Rays.

Honestly I see two ways to make that happen.

1. Josh Hamilton and Kevin Millwood for Scott Kazmir and Desmond Jennings.

The ultimate win now move for the Rays, it gives a monster lineup. With Crawford, Hamilton, Pena, Upton, Longoria, Navarro and Iwamura, they'd have a combination of speed and power that's unmatched by the current team. The dropoff in pitchng wouldn't be as much as expected. With growth from Garza, Shields, and Jackson, as well as the additions of Millwood and David Price, the rotation would still be quite good.

Now I believe the Rays could deal him for the ultimate package:

Kazmir for Neftali Felix, Elvis Andrus and Max Ramirez.

Maybe one of the few arms in baseball as electric as Kazmir's in Feliz, arguably the best SS prospect in baseball in Andrus, and a top nearly MLB-ready bat who's capable of becoming catcher if Navarro can't keep this going although he should.

09:$6M, 10:$8M, 11:$12M, 12:$13.5M club option ($2.5M buyout)

Thats the details, so I dont know where yall get the idea that he has two season left in TB, he isnt going anywhere before 2013 season, not with that kind of contract, unless some pays a kings ransom for him.

Scribbletone:

As a Rangers fan if Texas made either of those deals I would probably stop being a Rangers fan...

Those are just stupid trades for the Rangers and if I were the Rays I would nut myself if I saw either of those...

Im glad you aren't the Rangers GM