The Rangers have released 33-year old righty reliever Geoff Geary. Geary pitched in 23 games (6 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 4-5 with a 5.37 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 83 hits in only 58 2/3 innings this season in the minors! The Rangers have so many good, young arms that it seemed like a waste of time keeping Geary around. This will allow him to try to find another job this year giving him a better chance to make it back to the majors.

The Rangers have acquired 31-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee, 27-year old righty reliever Mark Lowe and $2.5 million bucks from the Mariners for 23-year old switch hitting 1B Justin Smoak, 21-year old righty starting pitcher Blake Beavan, 25-year old righty reliever Josh Lueke and 24-year old righty swinging 2B Matt Lawson. Cliff Lee instantly gives the Rangers an ace for the rotation. Lee has pitched 9 years in his major league career working in 207 games (203 starts) and he is 98-55 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Mark Lowe will miss the rest of the season due to back surgery but he will give the Rangers another live arm in the pen in 2011 and beyond. Lowe pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this season and he was 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has now pitched in 162 games (0 starts) in his five years in the majors and he is 5-15 with 4 saves, a 3.95 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Lowe was a solid second piece to this deal for the Rangers.

Justin Smoak came into this season as the Rangers’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Smoak has played in 70 games for the Rangers this year and he is 49 of 235 (.209 avg, .670 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 8 homers and 34 RBIs. Smoak has a nice upside but the Rangers will call up Chris Davis to replace him in the starting lineup. Blake Beavan was the Rangers’ #17 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has started 17 games in AA-ball for the Rangers this year and he is 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He has now pitched in 67 games (all starts) in his three years in the minors and he is 29-19 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Beavan has a nice upside. Josh Lueke has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this season and he is 3-2 with 12 saves, a 2.11 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has whiffed 62 batters in only 38 1/3 innings in the minors this season showing just how nasty his stuff is. Lueke has now pitched in 101 games (0 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 6-13 with 22 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Matt Lawson has played in 76 games in AA-ball this year and he is 81 of 292 (.277 avg, .809 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 7 homers and 34 RBIs. He has now played in 363 games in his four years in the minors and he is 378 of 1,356 (.279 avg, .751 OPS) with 206 runs scored, 25 homers, 143 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.

This was an outstanding trade for the Rangers as Cliff Lee will be dominating for them at the top of their starting rotation. Sure the Rangers gave up Justin Smoak but they still have Chris Davis to play 1B. The Angels have to really be worried now with the Rangers pushing a lot of chips to the middle of the table.

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.

The Rangers have released 34-year old righty swinging catcher Toby Hall. Hall only played in 1 game (in Rookie Ball) for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg) with 1 RBI. This could be the end of his major league career as he still has a bum shoulder. Hall has played in 686 games in his nine years in the majors and he is 616 of 2,350 (.262 avg, .671 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 46 homers and 269 RBIs.

The Rangers have traded 29-year old righty reliever Jailen Peguero to the Astros for future considerations. Peguero has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has walked 18 batters in only 24 innings this season which negates his 24 whiffs. He has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Whatever the Astros get back for Peguero will likely be worth it.