Rangers Running Out Of Time To Trade Michael Young

Michael Young might want out of Texas, and there’s been no shortage of trade rumors surrounding him and the Rangers. However, none of those trade rumors have come to fruition, and at this point the chances of a deal are looking pretty slim. Says Jeff Wilson:

T.R. Sullivan agrees with Wilson, writing that “the chance of Michael Young being traded [is] not good.” The will is there, and plenty of teams have some degree of interest in taking on the disgruntled veteran, but the cost is proving too big of a hurdle. Other teams want the Rangers to eat much of the $48 million remaining on Young’s contract, while the Rangers are holding out for a quality return. The Rockies are reportedly out of the race, and for some time they’ve looked like Young’s most probable destination.

From here, we’ll have to see how things develop. The Rangers will try to move Young, and they’re willing to trade within the division provided the deal makes them better. However, one issue is that the team doesn’t want to eat too much of Young’s contract, and another issue is that Young can block trades to all but eight teams in the league. T.R. Sullivan has the group of teams not covered by Young’s no-trade clause:

Young says he’s only interested in joining one of those eight, so those are the teams with which the Rangers are dealing. The Rockies - long considered Young’s most probable destination - are still in play.

Earlier, there were rumors that Michael Young had requested a trade from the Rangers. And now, courtesy of Jon Heyman, we’ve got confirmation. Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels has said that Young wants out, and that while “it’s not [their] first choice,” they’ll try to accommodate Young’s wishes.

It is worth noting that neither Daniels nor Nolan Ryan gave off the impression that a trade is on the verge of happening. Just because Young had a change of heart and wants out doesn’t guarantee that the Rangers will find a partner willing to absorb most of his contract. Another potential hurdle is that Young’s partial no-trade clause covers all but eight teams, although he could always choose to waive it.

All those Michael Young trade rumors that’ve been blowing around off and on for the past couple months have reached a new level of intensity, according to the Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson:

Wilson goes on to write that the Rangers “have no plans to trade Young,” but Yahoo!‘s Tim Brown hears differently:

It seems this is the story that doesn’t want to end. About a week ago, Nolan Ryan declared that Michael Young would be the Rangers’ Opening Day DH. One would think such a statement would be final, but then Ken Rosenthal came flying in out of left field and wrote the following:

Now, Rosenthal goes on to write that, according to other sources, the Rangers are sending mixed messages. And Troy Renck writes that, according to a well-placed source, the Rockies and Rangers haven’t yet re-opened discussions. But what’s clear is that these rumors aren’t quite as dead as Ryan suggested, as the Rockies like Young as a possibility, and the Rangers would like to shed as much of his contract as they can.

The Michael Young trade rumors started making headlines back in December. And that was before the Rangers made some of their moves. Since then, the team has signed Adrian Beltre to serve as the everyday third baseman, and it’s also traded for Mike Napoli, a powerful righty who’ll get time at catcher, first base, and DH. Based on the roster situation, it would seem that Young is an even better candidate to get traded now than he used to be. But Nolan Ryan doesn’t want you thinking like that:

The 34-year-old Young is due $16 million over each of the next three seasons, making him pretty expensive for a guy without a clear defined role. But he means a lot to the Rangers, and the team wants to keep him around and get him playing as often as he can. At least in the short term, if Napoli gets the bulk of his time at first or behind the plate, then Young should still have an opportunity to play often as the designated hitter. He will also be used around the infield as needed.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Michael Young trade rumors popped up late on Tuesday. Those rumors were shot down when a source said the Rangers had told Young he wouldn’t be traded. However, Jon Morosi reports that discussions are still going strong.

The Rangers, Morosi says, are sending teams mixed messages regarding their intent. Despite the report that they told Young he wasn’t going anywhere, the team has continued to talk with interested ballclubs, with the Rockies standing out as the most likely of the options. The Rockies would use Young at second base, where he hasn’t played regularly since 2003.

On Tuesday, seemingly out of nowhere, we caught wind of some developing Michael Young trade rumors. While team president Nolan Ryan shot the idea down, later on there was talk that the Rangers and Rockies were having conversations about the veteran infielder.

But you can forget about anything happening here, as the Rangers have told Young he will not be traded. It’s one thing to tell the press that you’re not shopping a guy, but it’s quite another to straight-up tell that guy that he’s not going to be dealt. For the Rangers to go back on their word now would be pretty low.

On an otherwise fairly slow Tuesday at the Winter Meetings, we were greeted late by the emergence of some Michael Young trade rumors coming out of Texas. Team president Nolan Ryan predictably shot them down, saying that the Rangers were listening but were by no means shopping their third baseman, but now there are reports that something could be in the works.

According to Evan Grant, the Rangers are currently involved in discussions with the Colorado Rockies. The discussions are centered around sending Young to Denver, where he would fill some as yet undetermined role in an infield that’s recently added both Jose Lopez and Ty Wigginton. Young is under contract for another three seasons and $48 million, and the Rangers would presumably have to eat some money in a trade, but they could still come away with some savings.

The 34-year-old Young is regarded by some as the face of the Rangers franchise, a guy who’s been with the team since debuting in 2000. However, the Rangers are willing to listen to trade offers anyway, possibly considering the idea of clearing some payroll.

Stay tuned as this story does or doesn’t develop. Nothing’s imminent now, but things can happen quickly at the Winter Meetings.