Some honest questions about Michael Young

[Aglets]

It seems to me that someone on the Rangers staff REALLY does not like Michael Young.

He has been with that team for 11 seasons. He's been bumped from 2B to SS, from SS to 3B......and then to DH essentially.

And THEN, after bumping him to DH, the Rangers go out and trade for Napoli, and inform Young that well, you might be losing some AB at DH now?

like, seriously what is going on? The guy has been an all star many times, has a career OPS near .800 (.795), and is one of the faces of the franchise. He had a slight down year for his standards last year (.774 OPS) but that's far from dreadful. It's unclear (to me anyway) if he will rebound in 2011 (like he did from 08 to 09) or if the decline is the start of a trend.

Young wants to be traded now, and I can't blame him. The question is, what team would be a good fit for him? In my perfect fantasy world I'd love for the O's to plug him in at SS and then have Hardy as the backup MI.....but that won't happen.

Do the Rangers move young? Or do they keep him around and unhappy?

[BaltimoreTerp]

I assume by "perfect fantasy world" you mean one where he can be a competent defender in the middle infield

I think they are going to have a very tough time keeping him at this point. Although with the moves they made I find it very hard to believe that either he is just getting unhappy or that the club has always wanted him around. There's something going on behind the scenes.

[TheBorioles]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110207&content_id=16590432&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

Apparently Young requested a trade. I guess he isn't happy with the Ranger's direction either.

[Coker]

"I've kept a low profile out of respect for the team, the coaching staff, my family and the fans because I didn't want to put anybody on an unnecessary roller-coaster. Now, I think it's important to address the inaccurate portrayal that is being painted. The suggestion that I've simply had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth."

"I want to be traded because I've been misled and manipulated and I'm sick of it."

Young wouldn't elaborate when asked how he was "misled and manipulated," instead saying it "would be unproductive for everybody, particularly my teammates and coaches. I know the truth and Jon Daniels knows the truth and I will sleep well."

Yeah, sounds like he really doesn't want to be there anymore.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Dirty little secret: Michael Young simply isn’t all that great

All the drama between the Rangers and Michael Young is receiving an incredible amount of attention, but lost in the never-ending speculation about where he’ll wind up is that … well, Young just isn’t that great.

...

Among all the hitters with at least 2,000 plate appearances since 2000 his .795 OPS ranks 97th. And even that overstates his production, because Young has benefited tremendously from Texas’ hitter-friendly ballpark.

He’s hit .279 with a .322 on-base percentage and .411 slugging percentage on the road during his career for a measly .733 OPS, including a .679 OPS away from home in 2010. Adjusted OPS+ takes ballparks into account and Young’s career mark is 105, which is just slightly better than the average of 100 and ranks second-lowest among all hitters with a .300 batting average and 5,000 plate appearances since the mound was lowered in 1969.

...

Young’s “leadership” is obviously impossible to quantify like his hitting and defense, but it’s worth noting that prior to the Rangers’ run to the World Series last season Young had the third-most games of any active player without reaching the playoffs. That’s not his fault, of course, but it does speak to the idea that his “leadership” can somehow cause a team to out-perform their talent. Maybe it did last season, but a) the Rangers clearly aren’t too worried about losing it, and b) even with his leadership Texas has had just three winning seasons in his 11 years with the team.

Interesting take on just why anybody else would want him.