Sullivan: Oliver Wants Rangers or Nothing

Remember last July when Vladimir Guerrero gave AA an ultimatum when he was playing in Las Vegas and thought he deserved to be donning the Jays jersey in Toronto? Well, it looks like we are in another situation like that one. As you all know, AA said no last July, and Guerrero was given his release. This situation is a little more interesting though. Vlad didn't really deserve to be called up, and their wasn't a clear cut spot for him on the roster. So, AA releasing Vlad was really the only option he had. T.R Sullivan, the Rangers beat reporter for mlb.com is reporting(on his blog) that 42 year old Jays pitcher Darren Oliver either wants to play for Texas in 2013, or retire. AA and the Blue Jays picked up his $3 million club option last month, but he has not yet made a decision on whether he will play in 2013. He is said to want to spend time with his kids, who are all around the age of 10.

If this is true, it makes his trade value drop completely, which especially hurts because a trade with the Rangers seems very likely due to the Blue Jays catcher abundance, and the Rangers lack of them. Texas is said to be interested in Blue Jays catchers John Buck and J.P. Arencibia, while the Jays could use another starter. Oliver would have been a nice player to package in with JPA/Buck, but now, it would take more than that to get a starter from Texas.

Toronto's bullpen, without Oliver, is good, but when you throw Oliver into it, all of a sudden, there is now major league caliber depth in AAA in the form of Aaron Loup and Jeremy Jeffress. As you can see, Oliver is very important to this team, but, if he wants to go Texas, his value plummets, and he is nothing more than a throw in. 

Or, you know, this can just be a rumour, and not true.

What would you do with Oliver? Comment below with your opinion!

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