• Michael Young told the Rangers he'd like to be traded, rather than play third base. This will put GM Jon Daniels in a very tough spot: Young will be extraordinarily difficult to trade because his salary is so high -- he is set to make $16 million for each of the next five seasons -- and he's 32 years old, and he's not a power hitter, and some advance scouts just don't think he can play shortstop anymore. At a time in which teams have been hanging onto their cash, Young is probably as close to being untradeable as anyone in the game, unless the Rangers eat a huge chunk of the contract in the way they ate almost 40 percent of A-Rod's contract to move him.
Earlier in the offseason, before any of this position-change stuff came up, I spoke with several general managers who said they would have no interest in Young because of his contract. "Nice player, awful contract," said one.
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Buster Olney
