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November 19, 2003
Transaction
Outrighted pitcher MARIO RAMOS and 1B/OF JASON HART, removing them from the 40-man roster. Ramos was claimed on waivers by Oakland.
In January 2002, the Rangers sent uber-prospect Carlos Pena and reliever Mike Venafro to Oakland for Ramos, Hart, outfielder Ryan Ludwick and catcher Gerald Laird. Ramos was the centerpiece of the deal, a lefty who excelled in AAA in 2001 and looked almost ready for the bigs. Instead, his 2002 campaign (3-8, 7.40 ERA) was so disastrous he found himself back in AA as a 26-year-old in 2003. Ramos did pitch well enough this season to earn a return to AAA and even three big-league starts, but he faltered again against stiffer competition. Hart has spent the last three seasons in AAA and got a cup of coffee with Texas late in the 2002 season. He's not much of an outfielder and couldn't squeeze his way onto a squad full of 1B/DH-types, and as a 26-year-old who batted a tepid .252/.325/.418 in AAA, his prospects are fading fast. Hart was out of options, meaning Texas would have had to keep him on the 25-man roster next season or run him through waivers.
Posted by Lucas at November 19, 2003 08:48 PM