The Blue Jays claimed Martinez, whom the Rangers traded for in June when they were still in the playoff race, on waivers. Rangers general manager Doug Melvin agreed to discuss potential prospects with his Toronto counterpart, Gord Ash, at a later date. The move and subsequent call-up of outfielder Pedro Valdes left Oates with a team that gets younger and less experienced by the day. We don't know much about these guys. We've got to give them a chance to play so they get better.
Young kids make mistakes.
I hope the veterans understand that. They were young once, too. I'm resigned to this. Though the Rangers want to look at Valdes, who was hitting .333 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs at Triple-A Oklahoma, as a potential extra outfielder and designated hitter for next year, there probably won't be much opportunity. That's because there are other young players such as outfielders Gabe Kapler and Ricky Ledee and designated hitter Frank Catalanotto ahead of him.