Jon Daniels Quotations

We'd like to get him up here as soon as possible.

We're hoping for the best and preparing for everything else. We're going to look at our internal options and keep our external conversations going.

Three years with 200 hits and a batting title, and he's not satisfied.

We have no active trade discussions going. Danny didn't play last year; we need to see what kind of shape he is in. There's nothing wrong with competition.

We hope to make the decision at the end of the year that we want to keep him beyond the term of the deal.

Somebody his age and at the stage of his development, we don't want him sitting around for a long period of time and not playing.

She nodded her head approvingly, ... I was a little surprised.

Oakland has really improved itself, Seattle has improved itself and Anaheim has a ton of young players coming up ready to help them. It's a really competitive division and we had to take some steps to stay in the mix.

Obviously, Buck's opinion is going to be heard, ... I think that's the case with all managers or at least it should be. But there will be a lot of people involved in all the decisions we make.

Phil has come in to camp in great shape, and seems committed to staying there. We've got a commitment there, and we're going to give him every opportunity to make the best of it.

I couldn't have seen this coming. I don't think anybody could have.

Bullpen, I think, is the most unpredictable part of the game, for me. You can build a quality bullpen so many ways. What I want is to slip a few pieces of it in and then bring in a lot of quality arms, then sort it out from there.

He was converted from third base to second because he doesn't have big power but our scouts say he can hit. He has good makeup.

He will be a source of creativity and ideas now and in the future. I am excited about someone with his knowledge and skills joining our baseball operations staff.

He is a youthful starting pitcher with an excellent track record that includes an All-Star selection, and will bolster our starting rotation.

He is a front-line starter and has taken the ball in big games.

There is a hunger level on the team and we want to see what we can do. This is not a perfect roster or win-at-all costs situation. We have the opportunity for the next few years to continue to put out a competitive club.

We told him that we support him but it's time to step it up. We're starting to make decisions. He seemed to embrace that. We'll see how his next outing goes.

What we had talked about at one point was a deal that would go into his free agent years, but we agreed to disagree and this was the best compromise for us at the time. It was an amicable resolution on both sides. ... With a player of Mark's caliber and how important he is to the club and organization, we certainly didn't want to get into an acrimonious setting with an independent arbitrator.

He's 24 years old, a power pitcher. We look at him as a starter. He has a plus fastball, and had some success in the major leagues last year.

He's doing well down there. He's playing third base today, but he's been playing mostly second base. One of his strengths is his versatility, but he's just not versatile. He's good defensively at a number of positions.

He's doing very well. That was a calculated risk ... not putting him on the roster, but he's starting to pitch well. He has a big fastball and one of the best breaking balls in the system. It wouldn't surprise me if we have a need, he could help us this year.

We looked for durability and consistency. In today's game, 200 innings is the benchmark that defines consistency and durability. The inherent value is that it takes you directly from the starters to the back end of your bullpen. It allows you to bypass the more unpredictable parts of the pitching staff.

He was a candidate to be a fifth starter and he was here late in camp for a reason. I was hoping we wouldn't have to go to our protection starters this early, but that's happened.

He was able to command it better than he has and he was able to manage the game better.

He is the highlight of many late-afternoon casual conversations in the clubhouse.

Juan had something like six out of eight quality starts at the end of the year, and that's not counting 10 strikeouts earlier against the Yankees. There's no denying the ability. As he continues to mature, we'd like to look at him as someone we can rely on. If you look at the back end of the rotation guys around the league, he could be in the upper echelon.

I will have some different ideas from how we've done things in the past. I will have some creative ways that we will look at things. But we are not going to stray from the good things we've built here.

Our internal discussions, from Day 1, were to do what it took to acquire a front-line pitcher. That was our top priority and still is.

My mind-set right now is if we have a hole, we'll have to fill it. We have a lot of options to consider.

Mark is an integral part of what we are trying to do here. He's the kind of person and player we want to build around.

We've had good reports on him the last couple of years. He's a tall (6-foot-4), athletic pitcher who throws strikes with all three pitches. He has a live arm and a chance to have an above-average breaking ball. He has an advanced feel for pitching.

We've had enough dialogue that something could happen.

We've had calls on a variety of guys, but there's no intent on our part to move him. For me, it's important as I get accustomed to this role to have an open and honest relationship with these guys. I didn't want David to focus on anything except what's in between the lines.

We have a strong level of confidence in R.A., with what he's done in the past and the improvements he has made with his knuckleball. I'm very comfortable starting the year this way.

We are going to take a look at him. He wanted to be re-evaluated.

When healthy, he adds a veteran to the rotation, a lefty in our park, and a strong presence in the clubhouse. And with the depth we've added to the pitching staff, we can afford to let him come back at his own pace.

We want to let him get a sense of where we're at and the framework of some of the ideas we're going to mull over the next month.

We like everything we've seen about him. He has great makeup and he fits in with a veteran group in the bullpen who have taken him under their wing.

We are excited about what it means to our future, both short-term and long-term. He adds something to our club that we sorely needed.

Fabio is like any other guy on the club. We want to see him contribute and pitch well at a level the club needs him to perform.

We've been clear and consistent that if he decides he does want to play, we'd love for him to be in Arlington.

We've had varying degrees of negotiation and we are closer in some cases than others. We exchanged figures and we have a second round of negotiations coming.

This was a chance to address a need, ... If there are bold moves available that give us an opportunity to take big steps, we'll take them. I'm not sure what this signals other than the fact that we're looking to get better.

We want to get his pitch count up, stretch him out and get him into the mix. He wants to start and we got him to start.

We expect him to be a member of the club moving forward this season and next.

We feel Mark is a long-term fit for us. It is the organization's intention for Mark to start and finish his career here.

You grow up quick when you're a kid from Queens, riding the subway by yourself, ... You see things. You have an awareness of your surroundings. I think that made me a little more observant than I otherwise would have been.

Both have been very impressive. It's a balance between their development and recognizing they've gone out there and performed.

Both guys bring professionalism and energy to our team.

Both are going to continue to get innings as a starter. But we are very cognizant of where they are in their development. We're looking at their long-term future and we're not going to jeopardize that.

Brian will bring a great deal of experience to our staff, including success in the postseason and the American League. Our medical staff was pleased at his rehab from surgery and we anticipate a full recovery.

The trails exist really at the discretion of the landowners. If it wasn't for the landowners, we wouldn't have the trail system we have.

It would provide us with options and depth. You never want to be in a position where injuries would put us in a bad spot or we didn't have depth to make a move if one presented itself.

The sense of urgency is always there. Whether we made 20 moves or one, Buck will have these guys prepared to play hard everyday. I get paid to have a short- and a long-term perspective. Every night at 7:05, Buck and the team have a three-hour perspective.

I've made calls and received calls. A lot of notes and a lot of conversations. But at this point I don't expect anything to materialize.

Teixeira told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. ''I can't have much issue with a guy I've never even talked to. But I can say this: We haven't won as much as we'd like to in the last few years, so maybe a change was needed.

Put it this way. We really didn't put him in a position to succeed.

Coco is healthy and his stuff is there. At this point, it's just a matter of harnessing that. I've got concerns in the short term.

Coco had a good year for us last year. But he had set his own bar so high the year before, that's why some people may have been looking for more.

As far as the outfield, he can play all three positions. He has some athleticism and he provides some speed, which we don't necessarily have an abundance of. He was once a top prospect. He had that reputation.

Avoiding the arbitration process for the next two years with a core player such as Mark is an important step for both he and the club. We're hopeful the contract is the continuation of a relationship that will last well beyond the term of this agreement.

As important as he is to the club on the field, to the organization, to this community, we certainly didn't want to get into an acrimonious setting where effectively we're paying lawyers to tell independent arbitrators how little we think of Mark. We wanted to avoid that. He shared that sentiment with us. It's a mutually beneficial deal.

Thirty teams believe they have a chance. Some are more realistic than others but it's a very positive time of the year.

This is a big holiday gift from Tom Hicks to Texas fans today.

There is no trade or pending trade despite reports to the contrary and we expect him to be here this year and at a minimum, next year. Since we acquired him from the Yankees, there has been endless speculation about where he might be headed. We have been consistent in saying that he is a piece of the puzzle we are putting together.

Absolutely not. Including the Florida trade, at no point were we mentioning Hank's name. I didn't bring it up on any occasion. The Marlins deal was a unique opportunity that we had to consider.

For anybody to sit back today and say that they forecast he was going to be the player he is now, that's just impossible. If that was the case, there's no way Toronto ever would have dealt him. He's become a superstar. He's unbelievable.

It's the same as yesterday. We're going to fill it from within unless something presents itself. You never say never, but I don't have anything close.

It's been a focus. All things being equal, in our ballpark it would be preferable to have a left-hander.

That's the challenge I signed up for, ... I wouldn't expect anything less.

That's the difference to me: Michael Young is the type who stepped up before we had to make a decision, when Soriano said he wanted to play second base. That's why Michael is such a leader on this team.

It's something our medical staff has assured us is not normally a recurring issue. We don't see any issues there.

It's not going to be easy. But don't count us out.

It's impossible to quantify David's leadership with the loss of a No. 2 starter. If I had to choose, I wouldn't want to part with either of them.

It was hard to trade David. He has been with us for two years; he has a strong relationship with the players and the community. He was pretty shocked.

I'm not saying we have the perfect roster or that we're the favorites. We're in an extremely competitive division, and the other teams have improved themselves, as well. But we were able to (improve) without tearing up the core of our team.

I'm glad we're down to one spot in the rotation, and we've got time to decide. It's time for them to show us something.

I'm ecstatic about this. This is what I've aspired to be for a long time.

I haven't been contacted, the Rangers haven't been contacted and I haven't had a chance to talk to Coco. We support him and whatever decision he makes. I understand he's under some pressure with national pride at stake.

I like the idea that on any given day, we could have somebody who should be starting instead sitting on the bench.

In the short term, this is the first camp where he has been completely healthy and we have a chance to evaluate him. He has taken good care of his back. I'm encouraged with the effort level and how much he has worked on his defense.

I just encouraged him to take a little extra time now rather than have issues down the road. I just told him to take care of himself because his health is important first.

His credentials on the field speak for themselves. As much as anything, what attracted us to Kevin were the intangibles -- his character, his makeup and person on and off the field. We did our homework and we heard the same thing -- terms like 'bulldog,' 'tenacious,' 'competitor,' and 'great around young pitchers.' These are all things we are ecstatic about as we go forward.

By the nature of his injury, it's going to be tough to get him stretched out as a starter.

He's somebody that we think can help us. We got a quality pitcher and added a nice prospect.

He threw the ball extremely well. That was encouraging to see. That's what we were hoping to see.

I certainly expect him to go out and have a good year. But with the things that had transpired in the past, we just decided that it was an appropriate time to go in a different direction.

I'd say it's highly unlikely that we're going to trade for a starter. Unless the off-chance presents itself, R.A. will be the fifth starter.

I feel comfortable he made a decision in the best interest of his season and our season. I know it was difficult for him.

He can fill a role but on a team expecting to contender, he has to be able to do his part.

He pitched his butt off for Cleveland down the stretch last year.

Keep your eyes open, take risks, and whenever possible, don't think of things the way everyone else does.

That's the reality, and you can't overlook it. Rod can be a free agent, but we don't want get ahead of ourselves. Rod is the starter now and at some point we'll address that. Rod's got the job and the experience and you hope Gerald learns from him.

There's not a yes or no answer to that. We want to prepare as a team to be as good as we can be out of the gate. If two months into the season or when Roger makes a decision to come to Arlington, I'd love to sit down with Buck and decide whose spot he takes. In reality so much happens during the course of the season, I don't see it as a problem.

The life was back in his fastball, the velocity was back, the breaking ball was there. He looked like a healthy pitcher.

All I can say is we're still interested.

The industry is at a point where there's a premium on catching and it's tough to come by. I think we're in the minority where we have two guys capable of being the No. 1 guy.

The Eaton injury changed the dynamics of what we were working with.

The circumstances in the big leagues have changed but the reasons for sending them out haven't. We want to give them a chance to succeed and come at their own pace.