FanHouse AkinoriOtsuka

Rangers closer Akinori Otsuka hasn't pitched in a game since July 1st, ever since he was put on the disabled list to give his sore forearm a little rest. That's all it was supposed to be, but here it's over a month and a half later, and Otsuka is still experiencing soreness in his arm. Otsuka has been examined by both his team doctor, Keith Meister, and orthopedist Lewis Yocum. Both told him that it was just tendinitis, and there's nothing structurally wrong with his elbow.

Well now he's going to get a third opinion from James Andrews, whom I think has now examined every athlete to ever play sports, to see what he says. It's entirely possible he may be out the rest of the season.

"I want to know what it is," Otsuka said. "I want to pitch again this season, but I think I need rest. But I just don't know. I'm a good pitcher when I'm healthy. I know that. I want to be healthy. If they say rest, I'll rest and get ready for next year."

If Otsuka is out for the rest of the season, it will put the Rangers in a bit of a bind. Otsuka is eligible for arbitration at the end of the season, and the Rangers are going to have to decide whether or not they want to pay a pitcher they haven't seen throw in three months $4 million plus. Had they not recently traded Eric Gagne to Boston, it would have made their decision a lot easier this offseason since they would've already have a replacement.

Though the way Gagne has pitched in Boston, they'd probably be willing to give him back if the Rangers asked nicely.

It was supposed to be a nice little story when Kason Gabbard took the mound for the Rangers on Sunday. He was half of a high school reunion in the Rangers battery, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia was donning the tools of ignorance.

Gabbard and Saltalamacchia, two of the most recent additions to the Rangers, went to high school together at Royal Palm Beach High. The reunion was very short lived, in fact, it only lasted 18 pitches.

Gabbard, who has had four surgeries on his left arm, threw just 18 pitches before signaling to the dugout that he was hurting. He had just retired Delmon Young on a fly ball to start the second. After a brief consultation on the mound with manager Ron Washington, pitching coach Mark Connor and trainer Jamie Reed, he was replaced by Willie Eyre. He is listed as day-to-day with left forearm stiffness. His next scheduled start is Friday at Minnesota.

"It's just a minor setback," said Gabbard, who acknowledged having some stiffness in the forearm after his throwing session on Friday. "I told them I'd stay out there and pitch. I'll be ready to go on Friday."

Gabbard may be saying it's nothing major, and he could be telling the truth, but there's still plenty of reason for the Rangers to worry. After all, Gabbard has had four surgeries on his arm already, and Akinori Otsuka experienced some forearm stiffness earier this season as well. Much like Gabbard, he didn't think it was that big of a deal either.

Otsuka then sat out for three weeks before being placed on the disabled list, and hasn't pitched since July 1st.

The Rangers have been out of contention for a while this season, so as a result, a lot of teams have been talking to them about possible trades. The names you hear most often are Mark Teixeira, Eric Gagne, and Akinori Otsuka, but they aren't the players the Rangers really would like to trade.

Now that Sammy Sosa has already reached 600 home runs, he doesn't offer the Rangers a lot, and they'd like to cut him loose.

"...the guy the Rangers really want to move is Sosa, who hit his 600th career home run earlier this season but is standing in the way of Texas' top hitting prospects, Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz. Texas would like to get both of their Triple-A sluggers some at-bats in the majors in the final two months of this season, and if they can't deal Sosa, they might have to bench or even release him. The Rangers are trying to sell Sosa as a potent right-handed bat for a team (like Minnesota or Anaheim) in need of offense."

The problem the Rangers are facing is that nobody really wants Sosa. The Angels are looking to add another power bat to their lineup, but the only Ranger they're interested in is Teixeira. I'm sure they feel that their chances to win the World Series aren't going to increase with Sosa in the fold. The same goes for the Twins, whom if they're going to get back into contention in the AL Central, they're going to need a lot more than Sosa.

With the Rangers set to start another rebuilding process, they need to get Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz more playing time, so moving Sosa is a priority. The best option the Rangers have may be to include Sosa as part of a package. Just tell teams, "Sure you can have Akinori Otsuka, but you have to take Sosa on as well." If that doesn't work, then just release him. It's cold blooded, I know, but there's no point to keeping him on the team.

With just about every single baseball writer in the country in San Francisco the last few days, you can be sure there was a ton of talks going on about trades that could be made in the next few weeks before the July 31st deadline. On of the more popular names bandied about was Mark Teixeira. The Rangers have made it known publicly that they're not actively shopping Teixeira, but they're willing to listen to any offers. Getting past the fact that by saying that publicly, Texas is shopping Teixeira, I'll just focus on the latest possible destination for the slugging first baseman.

One of many trade rumors making the rounds at the All-Star Game had the Braves among a handful of teams still interested in Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, the former Georgia Tech standout who is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season.

Two potential sticking points: The Rangers would probably accept nothing less than top Braves prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia and another young player, and Teixeira is represented by agent Scott Boras and is expected to ask for a long-term contract worth perhaps $20 million per season.

Another potential sticking point? Teixeira has recently shown a strong desire to play in Baltimore, where he's from. So if Atlanta does trade for him, and give up prospects, they face the risk of losing him after next season. That's why the Braves would probably require Teixeira agree to a long term deal with them before agreeing to anything, though I'm not sure they'd be willing to spend the $120 million or so it would take to do it.

Also, Teixeira isn't the only Ranger who's name has been discussed in trade talks recently. The Rangers are still wondering about what they want to do with Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka, and there's also talk in this Q&A that Sammy Sosa, and Kenny Lofton could be had relatively cheap as well.

With all of the injuries to their bullpen, it doesn't come as a surprise that the Detroit Tigers could be interested in looking for some bullpen help. Fernando Rodney will return to the bullpen tonight and the Tigers hope his return can help stabilize the pen. Still, considering they won't have Joel Zumaya for a while, and they just released Jose Mesa, the Tigers are still looking at all their options.

It explains why they've shown so much interest in possibly bringing Troy Percival back, but what if they decide to enter the trade market?

One intriguing trade partner could be the Texas Rangers. The Tigers pursued Texas left-hander C.J. Wilson during the off-season, but right-handers Akinori Otsuka and Eric Gagne could be even more appealing now.

It should be mentioned that neither of the two sides has done any talking about getting a deal done, but Eric Gagne could be an appealing option. Gagne has been effective for the Rangers this season, earning 4 saves while posting an ERA of 0.75. The problem with Gagne is that he's only been healthy long enough to pitch 12 innings in 13 appearances this season.

Akinori Otsuka is also mentioned, but I'm not sure the Rangers would be that willing to part ways with him instead of Gagne because of the injury concerns. That said, there's a lot of talk in Arlington about a full blown rebuilding process, so anything is possible at this point. If the Tigers can package together a couple of appealing prospects, there probably isn't anybody on the Rangers roster they wouldn't be willing to talk about.

(via Ben Maller)

Previously at The Fanhouse:
Jose Mesa Is Old, Unemployed
Off With Their Heads
The Detroit Tigers Should Sign Troy Percival
Eric Gagne's Butt Hurts
Eric Gagne To Start Season On DL

First I heard John Kentera on the Padres' post-game radio show saying San Diego had a press conference scheduled for 10:30am PT on Tuesday. Kentera speculated that the Padres could be announcing the news that they've extended pitcher Chris Young who has been fantastic since arriving in a trade with Texas prior to the '06 season. Corey Brock from the Padres official site also believes the press conference has been scheduled to announce an extension for Chris Young. Same thing with Ken Rosenthal on Foxsports.com.

On Tuesday, the Padres are expected to give the 6-foot-10 right-hander a four-year contract with a club option for the 2011 season, according to multiple sources

This is tremendous news for Padre fans; they've now locked up Adrian Gonzalez for four years, and it looks like they'll be locking up Young as well. Additionally, GM Kevin Towers has been talking extension with center fielder Mike Cameron. On a related note, Towers' trade with Texas in which he acquired Gonzalez, Young, and Terrmel Sledge for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka looks like one of the more one-sided trades of recent memory.

Oh yeah, Young also threw seven scoreless innings on Monday night, grabbing his first win of the year, lowering his season ERA to 2.13. The 6'10" right hander was also an impressive 11-5 with a 3.46 ERA in '06.

UPDATE: It's a four year extension with a club option for a 5th year. $14.5 million is guaranteed, the 5th year is an $8.5 million option.

Previously at FanHouse:
Mike Cameron Could Be a Padres for a Long Time
Adrian Gonzalez Will Be a Padres Through 2010