Tex to learn Tomahawk Chop

Tex and Left-handed relief pitcher, Ron Mahay, were traded today to the Braves for C/1B Salty, SS Elvis Andrus, RHP Feliz, and a player to be named later. The other player could be LHP Matt Harrison who has been named on this blog, but the hold up is his shoulder. He recently was sent down over a shoulder strain. According to Baseball America, Salty is the Braves' #1 prospect, Elvis is #2, Harrison #3, and Feliz #18. On the surface level this looks like a good trade for Daniels. In a previous blog I documented Daniels' trades in the past and they were not good. This trade looks very promising and what remains to be seen is how this will affect catcher Gerald Laird. One source from ESPN.com says that Salty is immediately a top 10 catcher in the AL, but for now he should play 1B.

Welcome Back Cruz

Nelson Cruz when he went down to AAA had these stats for the Rangers: .188AVG, 3HR, 12RBI. He goes down there and knocks the cover off the ball and comes back with a new batting stance and confidence. It showed in his first game back when he hit 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. This is the Nelson Cruz that we thought we were getting at the trade deadline last year and it's good to see him back. This is the biggest part of the Lofton trade because it gave us a roster spot for Cruz. The Rangers want to trade Sosa for the same reasons this time being Botts would come up from AAA.

Last note: Gagne might be traded after all to either the Yankees, Red Sox or the Mets.