The Rangers have acquired catcher Matt Treanor from the Brewers in exchange for infielder Ray Olmedo, tweets Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. Jeff Wilson of The Forth Worth Star Telegram says (via Twitter) that the Rangers don't expect Treanor to exercise the March 30th opt-out clause in his contract.
Texas had been looking for some catching depth all offseason as Jarrod Saltalamacchia recovers from shoulder surgery. The 34-year-old Treanor missed most of the 2009 season with a bone spur in his right hip, and is a career .232/.318/.311 hitter in the big leagues.
Olmedo, 29 in May, is a .228/.276/.293 career hitter in 442 big league plate appearances, but at least he can play all over the infield. He last appeared in the majors in 2007, and he's spent the last two years playing in Triple-A for the Nationals and Rays. He was promptly sent to minor league camp.
why do the rangers want more catching depth, if they already have a respectable trio in Salty, Ramirez, and Teagarden. Unless they plan on slotting him in triple-a for the rest of the year, they would have traded for a player that nobody wants, and nobody would need in both the short and long term, because of his declining batting average and defense. So, the rangers need to trade for players that will fill the void in other positions. The catcher’s position is secured for this year, if not for the next few years
At least when you sign Matt, Misty comes with the deal…
I was going to say: They just want his wife to come to the games.
Because the three catchers have been underwhelming. Salty is still young and might pan out, but none should be considered the future catcher for the Rangers at this point.
The Rangers dont have any catching depth…. They only have two true catchers, Salty and Teagarden. Ownership has made it pretty clear that they veiw Max Rameriz as a DH/1B type of player who could catch in a pinch. Salty cant stay healthy (hurt again now). And Teagarden hit in the .220’s. Everyone thinks that the Rangers are set a catcher because of the lofty expectations the Rangers put on the 3 youngster last year…. But honestly none of the 3 have progressed. If anything all 3 have regressed. They need catching help in a bad way. No, Treanor is not the answer, but they didnt give up anything for him neither. All that Olmedo is, is a spare minor league back-up infeilder who cant play at the major league level (442 AB’s w/ a .228 average). Treanor will more than likey be released once Salty is healthy. When Salty goes back down with another injury, the Rangers will run out and get another bargin type catcher to fill in (just like they did last year with Pudge).
GOwhitesoxNgiants – What other positions are you referring to when you said “void”. other than starting pitching, catcher might be the weakiest link. True, the Rangers have a ton of starting pitching options…. But other than Scott Feldman, no one has really done anything at the major league level…. The same can be said for the group of catchers….
It will be hard to find upgrades at 2B, SS, 3B, 1B (Smaokin the wings), and the OF appears to be a solid 4 deep if Hamilton can stay healthy….
So once the starting rotation is sorted out, the bull pen will become clearier.
Catcher maybe the biggest need right now, afterall.
where’s kevin richardson?