The Rangers have signed 26-year old righty swinging 1B Wes Bankston to a minor league deal. Bankston played in 122 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 122 of 457 (.267 avg, .762 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 17 homers and 75 RBIs. Bankston last played in the majors in 2008 with the A’s. He has played in 17 games in his major league career and he is 12 of 59 (.203 avg, .543 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. This was a nice organizational depth signing for the Rangers.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Omar Poveda looks like he will need Tommy John Surgery. He pitched in 24 games (all starts) in Rookie+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 11-6 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Poveda has now pitched in 108 games (103 starts) in his 5 years in the minors and he is 33-36 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This is a bad break for Poveda who worked his way to AAA-ball last season.

Backup shortstop Khalil Greene is still struggling with anxiety issues and it will cause him to stay at home instead of coming to spring training. I expect the Rangers will try to void his contract and move on. It’s good that the Rangers found out early on that they couldn’t depend on Greene before they had to start making moves. Esteban German and Joaquin Arias will battle for the job that would have likely went to Greene if he had showed up for spring training.

UPDATE: The Rangers have voided the contract of Khalil Greene.

35-year old righty swinging Vladimir Guerrero had problems staying healthy last season as the Angels still used him some in the outfield last year. That won’t be a problem this year as the Rangers brought him in to be the full time DH in 2010. Guerrero played in 100 games for the Angels last season and he was 113 for 383 (.295 avg, .794 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 15 homers and 50 RBIs. The Rangers hope that using him as a full time DH will keep him healthy and productive in 2010. Guerrero has averaged 91.0 runs scored, 31.2 homers and 101.3 RBIs in the last 13 years and the Rangers would likely be happy with numbers like that out of him. Guerrero has a career batting average of .321 with a .954 OPS in 1,850 games in the majors. I really like this signing for the Rangers and expect Guerrero to have a huge 2010 season for them.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: A

33-year old righty swinging Michael Young will be the starting 3B once again in 2010 for the Rangers. He played in 135 games for the Rangers last season and he was 174 for 541 (.322 avg, .892 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 22 homers, 68 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Injuries cut short his 2009 season early but the Rangers have faith that he will play in at least 150 games in 2010. Young only made 9 errors in 134 games at 3B last season but he showed pretty awful range. Look for him to improve defensively in his second year at the position.

30-year old righty swinging Khalil Greene will be Young’s backup in 2010. Greene played in 16 games at 3B for the Cardinals last season and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range. Like Young, Greene is a natural shortstop so he should be able to handle the position.

32-year old righty swinging Esteban German will battle this spring for a backup job on the Rangers. German played in 19 games for the Rangers last season and he was 14 for 46 (.304, .751 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. German also played in 105 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 124 for 389 (.319 avg, .833 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 4 homers, 59 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. German made 4 errors in only 10 games at 3B for the Rangers last season while showing awful range.

25-year old righty swinging Joaquin Arias played in only 3 games for the Rangers last season and he was 0 for 8 (.000 avg, .000 OPS). Arias has now played in 41 games in his major league career and he is 38 for 129 (.295 avg, .748 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Arias didn’t make an error in his 1 game at 3B for the Rangers. Arias is out of options so if he doesn’t look like he is going to make the 25-man roster look for the Rangers to trade him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A-