KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The struggles with the Rangers' rotation over the past three weeks have forced general manager Jon Daniels to be more open to a "rental" option on the trade market.
The injuries to Derek Holland and Colby Lewis, who are eligible to come off the disabled list on Aug. 20 and Aug. 21, have made starting pitching the club's top priority.
"The only real change is I was hoping we wouldn't consider rentals," Daniels said. "We're always open for long-term, controllable acquisitions. [all year]. You saw pretty clearly the value that Colby brings, the stability, and you know what you're going to get and we've missed him."
Daniels prefers to trade for players under multi-year contracts, such as Cole Hamels a year ago. But the rotation issues, which surfaced when Lewis and Holland were put on the DL on consecutive days June 21 and 22, has put the club in a bind. Their 10-game lead in the American League West has been cut to 2 { games. The trade deadline is Aug. 1.
"With a healthy rotation we would, like we did last year, not consider rentals," he said. "It's still not my preference, but we've got to be open to it."
Daniels expects Holland and Lewis to be ready to rejoin the rotation on the days they're eligible _ Aug. 20 for Holland and Aug. 21 for Lewis. Holland threw his first bullpen session Saturday and Lewis recently played catch for the first time.
"The schedule has been laid out and [those dates] are in the range," he said. "There are hurdles to get over before we get there, but they should be ready right around there, barring a set back."
Still, the club is still hoping to add another starter, whether he's a rental or not.
"If it's the right fit," Daniels said. "We're not going to do something that doesn't make sense, obviously."
