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January 11, 2004

Transaction

Signed starting pitcher KENNY ROGERS to a two-year contract for $6 million. Signed reliever JEFF NELSON to a one-year contract, terms undisclosed. Outrighted pitcher TRAVIS HUGHES and OF JASON JONES, removing them from the 40-man roster.

Bringing back Kenny Rogers isn't a bad idea in and of itself. I'd opined in an ESPN column that the Rangers needed an inning-eater because of the highly dubious collection of arms they had at the moment. But, sadly and predictably, the Rangers appear to have outbid themselves for Rogers' services. Rogers made only $2 million last year and didn't pitch well enough to deserve more. Would another team have granted two years as opposed to one and an option, and would another team have guaranteed $3 million in 2005 to a 41-year-old? Could Texas have foregone Rogers, Dellucci and Eric Young and used that combined money to keep John Thomson or sign Miguel Bautista? Maybe not, but in the end the Rangers appear to have used their scarce monetary resources inefficiently. Nelson sates the Rangers' desire for another righty in the pen. He won't post a sub-3.00 ERA but hasn't lost any velocity and ought to provide 50-or-so solid innings. Hughes was the easy choice for deletion from the roster: the 25-year-old has never pitched better than respectably above low-A and was hammered eleven AAA starts before sliding back to AA. I doubt he'll be claimed.

Posted by Lucas at January 11, 2004 11:51 AM