The Rangers have placed 25-year old righty swinging infielder Joaquin Arias on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. Arias has played in 46 games for the Rangers this year and he is 25 of 91 (.275 avg, .620 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Arias’ injury will hurt the Rangers bench until either he or Ian Kinsler returns to action.

The Rangers have traded 25-year old switch hitting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Red Sox for 20-year old righty starting pitcher Roman Mendez, 22-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and cash. Saltalamacchia played in 2 games for the Rangers this season and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 RBI. He played in 193 games in four years for the Rangers and he was 159 of 653 (.243 avg, .692 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 18 homers, 82 RBIs and a simply amazing 219 whiffs! Roman Mendez came into this season as the Red Sox’ #23 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Mendez started 14 games in A-ball for the Red Sox this year and he is 2-5 with a 6.56 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He has now pitched in 37 games (35 starts) in his three years in the minors and he is 7-9 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Mendez has whiffed 146 batters in 148 2/3 innings in his minor league career showing he has decent stuff. Chris McGuiness played in 78 games in A-ball this season and he was 84 of 282 (.298 avg, .920 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 12 homers and 46 RBIs. He has now played in 138 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 137 of 498 (.275 avg, .860 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 18 homers and 85 RBIs. I really like this deal for the Rangers who got a nice haul for essentially giving up on Salty.

The Rangers have acquired 32-year old switch hitting 2B/SS Christian Guzman for 25-year old righty reliever/starter Ryan Tatusko. Guzman played in 89 games earlier this season and he was 90 of 319 (.282 avg, .687 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,391 games in his major league career and he is 1,452 of 5,336 (.272 avg, .693 OPS) with 723 runs scored, 62 homers, 466 RBIs and 125 stolen bases. Tatusko has pitched in 24 games (13 starts) in AA-ball this year and he is 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has now pitched in 101 games (58 starts) in four years in the minors for the Rangers and he is 22-26 with 1 save, a 4.09 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This was a great trade for the Rangers especially when you consider Ian Kinsler is going to be out of action for 3-4 weeks.

UPDATE: (7/30/2010) - The Rangers have also sent 23-year old righty starter/reliever Tanner Roark to complete this deal. Roark has pitched in 22 games (17 starts) in AA-ball this season and he is 10-5 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 78 games (35 starts) in his three years in the minors and he is 24-12 with 1 save, a 4.13 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

The Rangers have demoted 24-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris Davis back to AAA. Davis played in 31 games for the Rangers this season and he was 19 of 101 (.188 avg, .533 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Davis has now played in 224 games in parts of three years with the Rangers and he is 196 of 787 (.249 avg, .759 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 38 homers and 117 RBIs. The Rangers love Davis’ power potential but it also comes with a ton of whiffs (270). The Rangers don’t mind the whiffing as long as Davis shows the big time power he has shown in the past. Davis will make it back to Texas at some point but it might not be in 2010.

The Rangers have acquired 28-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Jorge Cantu from the Marlins for 24-year old righty reliever Evan Reed and 22-year old righty starting pitcher Omar Poveda. Cantu played in 97 games for the Marlins this season and he was 98 of 374 (.262 avg, .719 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 10 homers and 54 RBIs. He has now played in 760 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 796 of 2,886 (.276 avg, .772 OPS) with 350 runs scored, 100 homers, 458 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Omar Poveda was the Rangers’ #22 ranked prospect heading into this season but he hasn’t pitched in 2010 as he is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Poveda pitched in 108 games (103 starts) in his five years in the minors for the Rangers and he is 33-36 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Evan Reed has been pitching well in the minors this year for the Rangers. He has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) this year in AA+AAA-ball and he is 2-1 with 5 saves, a 1.76 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In his four years in the minors with the Rangers, Reed has pitched in 112 games (34 starts) in which he is 14-14 with 31 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Rangers think they got Cantu at a bargain basement price as they like a lot of pitchers in the organization way more than Reed and Poveda. Cantu will likely start at 1B for the Rangers.