Texas Rangers

Michael Young, Texas Rangers' second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, first baseman, I mean designated hitter, has finally had enough.

The longest tenured player on the American League's defending champions has demanded a trade from the only Major League team he has ever known. Not only that, but he has finally broken his silence regarding his perception of the manner in which the Rangers have handled him in recent seasons.

Lately, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been a hotbed for controversy. Whether its the arctic weather, Jerry Jones' inability to know how many seats to have for his Super Bowl guests or Christina Aguilera botching the national anthem, hostility and malice are sure to be found.

To add fuel to an already raging fire, Texas Ranger captain Michael Young now wants to be traded.

The last time he demanded a trade he got denied.  But now, I think he's really on his way out.

After the Adrian Beltre signing, Michael Young was moved from third base over to the DH spot.  Now, with the acquisition of catcher/first basemen/DH Mike Napoli, Young has been relegated to a backup infield/DH role.

The Rangers currently have insane amounts of depth, and Michael Young has requested to not be a part of it.

Michael Young has been the one consistent face on the Rangers over the last decade, but now it seems his days in Arlington may be coming to an end.

Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock have all come and gone, but Young has stayed.  Through the losing, through the ownership quagmire, Young has been an All-Star six times, a versatile presence on the field (starting at three different positions), and a leader in the clubhouse.

During the late 1990s, the Texas Rangers had no greater nemesis than the New York Yankees.

Despite winning three division titles in four years during 1996, 1998 and 1999, the Rangers never had much to show for their domination of the American League West. Easily dispatched by the Bronx Bombers in the first round each time, Texas only managed to win a single game in 10 contests with the so-called "Evil Empire."

In yet another jarring display of general ineptitude, Toronto Blue Jays GM (and newly-minted golden boy) Alex Anthopolous has traded the recently acquired Mike Napoli yet again—this time for the most fungible of baseball assets: a right-handed relief pitcher.

A dead-on average one, at that. 

In an interview with ESPNDallas.com, Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan predicted the Rangers to win 90-95 games in the upcoming season. Considering we are still months away from Opening Day, that comment is a little outrageous.

The Rangers were terrific last year, going 90-72 in the regular season before losing to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Even that team was barely able to hit the 90-win mark and their division may have been the weakest in all of baseball.

Ever since the Rangers pulled off the improbable and landed Michael Young, the team’s longest tenured player has been the subject of multiple trade rumors, as he has lost his position in the Rangers lineup.  

Young is considering moving to DH or second base to help the team, but some think it is inevitable he is traded for prospects or in a salary dump.

Here is a list of ten possible trade destinations for Michael Young:

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You would think that a player with over 7,500 plate appearances would be fairly easy to evaluate, but Adrian Beltre may be one of the more difficult players to project going into 2011.  This is a guy who has hit as high as .334 and as low .240, has hit as many as 48 home runs and as few as 19 and has driven in everywhere from 60 runs to double that number.  To say he has been inconsistent would be an understatement. 

Over the past year, Ian Kinsler has been steadily falling down people's wish lists and deservedly so. He has never been able to shake the injury bug as he has only played in more than 130 games once in his five-year career. Most recently, Kinsler is coming off an injury-riddled campaign where he only amassed nine home runs and 15 steals. Those number are not really meeting the expectations of the top 20 player that we all envisioned him to be.