Ben Sheets remains a free agent. The Rangers still have holes in their starting rotation. Yet, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes that "all signs point to him not being with the Rangers" in 2009.
"Did the Rangers look? Yes. Sheets lives here [in Dallas] and is from Louisiana. He is also a No. 1 starter. That mandates the Rangers consider him. The Rangers also need pitching. That mandates Sheets being interested in them. It’s a perfect match. They had two weeks to get it done. Both have little in the way of alternatives. And it’s still not done."
"This just isn’t going to get done," concludes Sullivan. The 30-year-old right-hander has a career ERA of 3.72. He went 13-9 last season with a 3.09 ERA over 198 1/3 innings. Obviously Sheets carries a troubling history of injuries, but it seems this one is all about dollars and cents.