Ladies and gentlemen, your Texas Traders

The day that Rangers fans have been waiting for all season finally arrived. No, not the day they reached .500—we know better than to expect that. No, of course, I am talking about the trade deadline, and the big sayonara to Mark Teixeira. (I keep trying to come up with a clever way to mix ‘toxic’ into his name but haven’t figured out how to do it yet. Guess that is some Braves blogger’s problem now.)

So did the Rangers get a good deal? It appears so, but prospect-laden trades are always difficult to call, particularly if some of the players involved are in Single A. It’ll be years before some of these guys hit the majors, if ever. That makes for nice obscure trivia questions, but doesn’t do much for fans today.

Given Daniels’s record in big time trades, there was cause to worry. While he has done well in picking up rehab cases (see Sosa and Gagne), he has been on the short end of just about every trade he has made. But when he managed to swap Tex for the top three prospects in the Braves system plus a couple others, it doesn’t look too shabby. Hey, the Braves can stock talent—getting their top three prospects is saying something.

And flipping Gagne was a bonus. It appears the returning players aren’t of the same caliber as those acquired in the Tex deal, but getting anything for Gagne is a good deal. He didn’t have a meaningful future in Texas, so getting a few Boston flyers who might have a future here holds potential. The same is true for the Lofton trade. I am disappointed the Sosa is still in town, but I suppose he is the kind of player who could clear waivers and still be involved in a deal further down the road.

Jonboy, I know we’ve had our differences, but it seems you done good with this one—just don’t let it go to your head.

Listen to Norm Hitzges's take on the trade here.