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December 07, 2003
Transaction
Offered arbitration to pitcher JOHN THOMSON. Declined arbitration to 1B RAFAEL PALMEIRO, OF JUAN GONZALEZ and pitcher ISMAEL VALDES.
No surprises. GM John Hart despises arbitration but correctly offered it to Thomson, who won't break the Rangers' limited budget even if he wins the hearing. Texas never offered a contract to Valdes, and in fact had benched him during the last two weeks fo the season to start younger pitchers. Gonzalez was persona non grata after two expensive and injury-filled years. Finally, Texas could have used another season of Palmeiro but didn't want to commit much money or a long-term contract to a 39-year-old. Palmeiro leaves Texas with the team record for most games played, runs scored, and walks.
Posted by Lucas at December 7, 2003 08:51 PM