Rich Harden

To add Cliff Lee or not to add Cliff Lee, that is the question surrounding a lot of teams as the trade deadline is just a few weeks away.

For the Texas Rangers, however, the answer to this question has to be a resounding-no.

For one, the team is currently four and a half games up on the defending AL West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and don't look to be slowing down any time soon.

With the news that the Texas Rangers placed RHP Rich Harden on the 15-day DL with a stained glut, we might have an Oliver Perez Part Deux on our hands.

In case you aren’t following the Oliver Perez reference, I will explain.

The New York Mets were desperate to get Perez off their active roster, so they put him on the 15-day DL with right patella tendinitis. The reality is, they put him on the DL for sucking, which is a no-no by Major League Baseball standards.

A pair of starting pitchers found their way onto the disabled list this afternoon:

According to Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers have placed Rich Harden on the DL due to "a strained left gluteus muscle."

There is currently no word as to who will replace him in the rotation as Alexi Ogando has been recalled to fill his spot on the roster.

When this season started, I had high hopes for the Rangers pitching staff, and for the most part they have delivered.

There have been quite a few ups and downs, but in general I am quite happy with their performance thus far.

I expected Rich Harden to have a decent season and was somewhat skeptical of moving C.J. Wilson to the starting rotation. 

Boy, was I wrong.

C.J. Wilson has been a great success as a starter. Despite a rough stretch of four or five games, he has pitched extremely well. 

I know it is still early in the season, but this team is feeling more and more like teams of the past; keeping a record right around .500, and never knowing how to put other teams away. I hope they can get it figured out soon.

Game Recaps

4-20 at Boston Red Sox L, 6-7

Colby Lewis had a decent start going five innings and giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. He had to feel pretty good leaving the game with the score at 6-3, but it turned out not to be enough.

After a few busy days of winter meetings in the MLB, let’s take a look at the fantasy implications of some of the bigger moves:

The (AL) West just got wilder.

Rich Harden has reportedly signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

The deal, which is contingent upon Harden passing a physical, is believed to have an option for 2011 valued at $11.5 million.

The Ace List

Back in July, there were some people that thought the Cubs should have traded pitcher Rich Harden. I was among those that though Harden, having a good, healthy season, had arguably the highest trade value of his career and could have helped the future of the Cubs at the expense of a lost 2009 campaign.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn't agree; Harden stayed in Chicago.

Then, in August, we learned that the Minnesota Twins placed a waiver claim on Harden. Around the same time the Anaheim Angels won a waiver claim on, and paid a fairly steep price for, an underwhelming Scott Kazmir.

The Minnesota Twins came into this offseason with three major goals:

1) Sign Joe Mauer to an extension
2) Improve the infield
3) Add at least one veteran arm to the rotation

General manager Bill Smith got off to a quick start on his offseason “to do list” by acquiring shortstop J.J.