Two local reports suggest that the Rangers are among the teams attempting to acquire Mariners starter Cliff Lee.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram:
A baseball source indicated that the Mariners have interest in several prospects and young players who have experience at the big-league level. Seattle has inquired about the availability of, among others, first baseman Chris Davis and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
A source, though, indicated that [Tanner] Scheppers and [Martin] Perez have been deemed untouchable by Rangers officials. Right-hander Alexi Ogando, who tossed a scoreless seventh inning Wednesday, is also on Seattle's radar, but there is some resistance to include him in a deal.
Wilson addresses the financial aspect:
A baseball source said last week that the Rangers would have to be creative to make a deal work, as they were when getting San Francisco to pick up Bengie Molina's contract in a trade for the veteran catcher.
"Creative" is apparently a synonym for giving up extra prospects to offset the value of the deal.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.comalso discusses possible talent involved:
The Mariners are reportedly looking for a big bat for their lineup and the Rangers have both Justin Smoak at the Major League level and Chris Davis at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Rangers are also deep in Minor League pitching although indications are they are not interested in talking about Tanner Scheppers or Martin Perez. But Derek Holland and Blake Beavan could be two names that might interest the Mariners.
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