The Texas Rangers have acquired 35-year old righty swinging catcher Bengie Molina from the Giants for 28-year old righty reliever Chris Ray and a player to be named later. Molina fills what has been a black hole for the Rangers this season behind the plate. He has played in 61 games this season with the Giants and he is 52 of 202 (.257 avg, .644 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. Molina has now played in 1,305 games in 13 years in the majors and he is 1,275 of 4,637 (.275 avg, .722 OPS) with 447 runs scored, 142 homers and 692 RBIs. Molina is not just a good hitter as he’s a good defensive catcher with a good throwing arm. Chris Ray pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Rangers have such a deep bullpen that they won’t miss Ray. The Rangers are a better team now than they were yesterday with Molina on board.

UPDATE: (7/1/2010) - The Rangers have sent 21-year old righty starting pitcher Michael Main to the Giants to complete this trade. Main was a first round pick of the Rangers in 2007 (#24 overall). He pitched in 54 games (52 starts) in his four years in the minors with the Rangers and he was 14-13 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Main came into this season as the Rangers’ #21 rated prospect according to Baseball America so they paid full price for Bengie Molina.