Unloading two of their biggest names, the Rangers dealt closer Eric Gagne to Boston and completed a deal to send first baseman Mark Teixeira to Atlanta. Rangers owner Tom Hicks told The Associated Press in an e-mail that Teixeira rejected an offer for an eight-year, $140 million contract extension made two weeks ago.
Throw in last week’s deal that sent center fielder Kenny Lofton to Cleveland, and in return, the Rangers acquired mostly a heap of prospects and a new starter in left-hander Kason Gabbard.
But general manager Jon Daniels - who brought Gagne, Lofton and slugger Sammy Sosa to Texas on one-year deals last winter - insisted the Rangers aren’t starting over.
“This is not a tear down,” he said.
Daniels instead billed the trades as a longer-term strategy to build around core players Michael Young and Kevin Millwood and give Texas the best chance at returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Millwood said the players had “mixed emotions” to the deals that made Texas the busiest team in the majors before the trade deadline.
“The trade for Tex (Teixeira) kind of had to happen, I think,” Millwood said. “He just wasn’t going to re-sign here. At least we got some good players. Gagne, I kind of felt we had a chance to sign him. I’m a little more surprised, but we move on.”
In exchange for Gagne, the Red Sox sent Gabbard and minor league outfielders David Murphy and Engel Beltre to the Rangers. Daniels said Gabbard will enter the Rangers’ starting rotation but did not know when.
Daniels said he is not ruling out the possibility of getting Gagne back through free agency after the season.
By sending Teixeira to the Braves, the Rangers acquired rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers. Hicks said the Rangers made their extension offer to Teixeira two weeks ago, then told agent Scott Boras that they would trade the former All-Star either now or after the season if the offer was declined.
Last week, the Rangers traded Lofton for minor league catcher Max Ramirez.
Losing Teixeira marks the third time this decade the Rangers have traded an All-Star power hitter. Texas dealt Juan Gonzalez in 2000 and Alex Rodriguez in 2004 in hopes that those moves would make the club more competitive down the road.
Daniels said the latest trades aren’t an admission that their strategy last winter was off target.
“It’s an admission that we recognize where we are in the standings,” Daniels said. “We had two choices as far as direction. We wanted to make sure that we built something that was sustainable.”
NOTES:@ The Rangers activated 2B Ian Kinsler from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after he missed 26 games with a stress fracture in his left foot, and they recalled left-hander A.J. Murray from Triple-A Oklahoma. Infielder Desi Relaford was designated for assignment.
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Associated Press sports writers Tom Withers in Cleveland and Stephen Hawkins in San Antonio contributed to this report.
