What do these people do, take the weekend off? Actually, I'm sort of glad there haven't been any more Tex/Salt rumors - I'm ready for something to happen! A lot of sources say that we, the Braves, are the front-runners to acquire Tex. Some "sources" have even gone as far as speculating that the trade may be on the commissioner's desk waiting for approval, but that's looking less likely as more and more time passes.
I'd love to know what is happening behind the scenes. Is John Schuerholz playing hardball with the Rangers GM? Are we going to see JS whack another trading partner with a blockbuster move?
But this actually may be one of the tougher tests for Schuerholz. Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows he has several teams in play for Mark Teixeira, and he's not as green as some people make him out to be. This is expected to be his signature move, a move that will help rebuild the Rangers' system and graduate more prospects to the majors. Daniels knows he needs to be measured.
With that in mind, I had a feeling this morning that any trade we completed with Texas would NOT include Saltalamacchia. The Rangers just acquired a catcher in the Lofton trade. They assigned recently acquired catcher and former Braves prospect Max Ramirez (he was the guy we traded for Wickman last year) to their hi-A affiliate. That prompted the promotion to double-A of one of their top prospects, Taylor Teagarden, who is a highly thought of former collegiate standout and a catcher. Already 23 years old, Teagarden could be ready for the majors as early as next season. So, they already have a catcher who should be ready by the time the Rangers will field a competitive team.
This leads me to think that Schuerholz and Daniels are actually discussing other players, specifically pitchers. The Rangers are in dire need of pitching and the Braves have several guys who are only a year or so away from being major contributors in the majors. I won't get into who specifically could be in a trade, but two front line starting prospects and a position prospect would fit the needs of the Rangers better than two position prospects and a pitcher.
With that scenario the Braves could use Salty in a trade for a young starting pitcher - something that was thought to be the case from the beginning. Here is where the Ian Snell rumors, which have been completely absent the past week, may actually gain some validity. Everyone in the media is so focused on Salty to Texas that they may be missing the real deals that are getting worked out. Remember, all these rumblings are just rumors that come from people who "think" they know what "might" be happening. Yes, sometimes they are accurate, but often they are far from what the real trade ends up being.
In any case, it will be an interesting next 72 hours. Tuesday at 4pm is the deadline.