Salty, we hardly knew ye

So long, Salty

Leave it to Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels to spend two weeks sending prospects to other teams for proven Major Leaguers only to make a prude move to build it back up a little.

The Rangers made a deadline move sending Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Boston Red Sox for 20-year-old pitcher Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and cash (reportedly $350K).

Mendez is a Dominican and reportedly hit 97 with his fastball in short-season New York. I would suspect he'd fit quite nicely in Spokane or Hickory.

McGuiness was a 13th-round pick by the BoSox in 2009. He was hitting .298 in Low-A Greenville and .337 in July. According to those in the know, McGuiness will take a trip across the nation to Bakersfield.

Add in another player and some cold hard cash and the Rangers made out. Or so we think.

Salty's struggles have been well publicized. He's a big guy and his bat wasn't projected to be worth a move to first base. However, he learned the position quickly getting pretty good at his footwork and whatnot.

However, when he was healthy, he couldn't hit. When he could hit, he wasn't healthy. If he was healthy, he was unable to throw the ball back to the pitcher, sending balls into centerfield.

Not knowing Salty, I would think that his confidence could not have been at a lower place than it was this season.

I like Salty. He became a punchline this season, and that's a shame. He seemed like a really sweet guy, and I wish he would have worked out here.