Rangers can't match what Angels did

July, 28, 2012

7/28/12

11:52

AM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

Mike Trout is putting himself in position to win not only AL Rookie of the Year but AL MVP, and his general manager is making a case for executive of the year. By swinging a blockbuster for Zack Greinke on Friday, Los Angeles Angels GM Jerry Dipoto has built a club that is set up perfectly for postseason success.

Dipoto’s shrewd move to jump in the market and find a way to get the game's best available starting pitcher from the Milwaukee Brewers was brilliant. Jean Segura -- the key prospect who went to Milwaukee -- is a promising middle infielder, but most Angels evaluators had him slotted behind second baseman Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar, who are each locked up for a few years.

Whether the Texas Rangers, who also were in on Greinke, played "chicken" and lost, or just weren’t willing to part with prospects Jurickson Profar, Martin Perez or Mike Olt can be debated for years depending whom you talk to, but only Rangers GM Jon Daniels and Brewers GM Doug Melvin know for sure.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.