The Rangers have acquired 28-year old lefty reliever Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to be named later. Rapada pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. He has now pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 3-0 with a 4.94 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Rapada’s pitching in AAA-ball is what likely caught the eye of the Rangers as he worked in 42 games (0 starts) in which he was 4-2 with 5 saves, a 2.76 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Rangers needed bullpen help so it was worth taking a flier on Rapada as the price was right.

A lot of teams are calling the Rangers about Nelson Cruz and Kevin Millwood but they will probably resist trading them unless they are overwhelmed. The Rangers would be smart to steer clear of bringing back Milton Bradley despite rumors that they and the Cubs are talking about him. He is a team cancer. The Rangers also might move one of their young catchers if it brings them back some much needed middle relief help. On the free agent front look for the Rangers to focus on cheap bullpen arms.

The Rangers have claimed 31-year old lefty swinging IF/OF Joe Inglett off waivers from the Blue Jays. Inglett played in 36 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 25 for 89 (.281 avg, .685 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 211 games in his four years in the majors and he is 187 for 639 (.293 avg, .745 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 5 homers, 68 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. This was a good pick-up for the Rangers as Inglett can play anywhere but pitcher and catcher.

UPDATE: The Rangers have designated Joe Inglett for assignment to make room on the roster for Colby Lewis. The signing of Khalil Greene also doomed Inglett’s time in Texas.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler finished in a tie for 26th with Felix Hernandez for the A.L. MVP Award. Kinsler played in 144 games for the Rangers last season and he was 143 for 566 (.253 avg, .814 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He has now played 4 years with the Rangers appearing in 515 games in which he is 556 for 1,990 (.279 avg, .827 OPS) with 364 runs scored, 83 homers, 273 RBIs and 91 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Kinsler as long as he can just stay healthy and last year showed that when he was a 30/30 man.

33-year old righty swinging 3B Michael Young finished 16th for the A.L. MVP Award. He played in 135 games for the Rangers and he was 174 for 541 (.322 avg, .892 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 22 homers, 68 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Young has now played in 1,351 games in his 10 years with the Rangers and he is 1,662 for 5,501 (.302 avg, .798 OPS) with 819 runs scored, 137 homers, 720 RBIs and 77 stolen bases. Young made a seamless transition to 3B from SS last season and he would have finished much higher in the voting if he wouldn’t have hurt himself late in the year.