Oct 24, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello (48) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning of game one of the 2012 World Series against the San Francisco Giants at AT

Prior to his injury, Martín Pérez appeared to be the favorite to win the No. 5 spot in the Texas rotation, but as it stands now, the Rangers’ best options for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation have come down to Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross. Ross, whom was the Rangers’ primary LHP out of the bullpen in 2012, would appear to be the odd man out in the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation had LHPs Joe Ortiz and Michael Kirkman not displayed such strong Springs.

Colby Lewis, who missed the majority of the 2012 season due to a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, appears to be ready to return the Rangers in mid-to-late May and would ideally slide into the No. 5 spot in the rotation, thusly bumping either Tepesch or Ross from the role, but there are obvious questions regarding how effective Lewis will be after rehabilitation, which is evidently giving the Rangers some reason to evaluate external options to fill out the rotation, which is where Rick Porcello enters the equation.

Based on WAR, Porcello is coming off of his strongest season to date. The young righty posted 2.9 WAR with a FIP of 3.91 in 176.1 innings in 2012. Porcello’s 2012 ERA of 4.59 is obviously not awe-inspiring, but don’t forget to take into account the Tigers’ weak infield defense. Porcello is a groundball pitcher and given the discrepancy between Porcello’s FIP and his ERA, it is evident that the Tigers’ weak infield defense is to blame. The Rangers on the other hand have one of the stronger infield defenses in all of baseball. So with Porcello pitching in front of a strong infield defense like the one in Texas, his ERA would correspondingly correlate more to his FIP, making Porcello a very solid No. 3 starter on a playoff team, with room to improve, given that he’s still only 24.

Rick Porcello is obviously a good fit for the Rangers, given his propensity to get groundballs, but what exactly would the Tigers want for him?

Rumors seem to indicate that the Tigers have interest in the Rangers’ Leury Garcia and Nick Tepesch, but I would think that the Tigers would want another prospect in order to agree to a deal. Perhaps a 3-player plackage centered around Luis Sardinas gets a deal done, and if that is the case, it would be a very solid deal on both sides. The Rangers would be acquiring a young and durable groundball pitcher and the Tigers would be acquiring a defensive whiz shortstop in Sardinas, to replace Jhonny Peralta.

Rick Porcello would provide the Rangers with a durable No. 3-4 starter, which sounds decent, until one actually realizes how rare a commodity that true No. 3 starters are in baseball. So there is obvious motivation for the Rangers to attempt to swing a deal, especially given the uncertainty at the bottom of the Rangers’ rotation, and as with any trade rumors, most of this conjecture depends on the Tigers’ asking price, but the Rangers are an ideal fit for Porcello’s services and the Rangers also seem to match up pretty well with the Tigers as trade partners, given the Rangers’ strong middle-infield depth, so only time will tell.

August 11, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers pinch hitter Mike Olt (center) celebrates his walk off single with second baseman Michael Young (10) and relief pitcher Robbie Ross (rear) against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers won beating the Tigers 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

Derek Holland was in tough against Justin Verlander tonight and it didn’t start well – Holland gave up a lead off homerun to Austin Jackson but then settled down in what was probably his best start of the year even though he only had a no decision to show for it but against Verlander, that may be as good as a win. Holland pitched 7.2 innings allowing only two hits after the Jackson homerun and struck out nine, walking one. That is exactly what the Rangers need from Holland as the season goes forward. The ability for him to bounce back and then just shut down a potent Tigers offense.

Ron Washington didn’t want to make the same mistake he made yesterday when he left a starting pitcher in too long. In the eighth inning, he went to Ogando who shut the door and then, in the ninth inning brought in Robbie Ross to pitch to Prince Fielder. Ross walked fielder and forced Mike Adams to work out of a jam which he did very well and allowed for Olt’s heroics in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The ninth inning was the bottom of the order working a run, which is also something the Rangers will need to be successful. The depth you see when a team is able to do that is the same thing that allows teams to successful in October. David Freese wasn’t a star before last year’s playoffs. Someone always steps up. When Nelson Cruz and Michael Young drew walks against Brayan Villarreal, Craig Gentry failed to get a sacrifice bunt down which was one of the first times he failed to step up in a big spot and then Geovany Soto struck out. Then, Olt was able to provide yet another big hit in his young Major League career and the first walk-off.

The fact that the Rangers were able to get a win in a game Verlander started is huge. The fact that they were able to have Holland go pitch-for-pitch with him was great and allowed their offense the time it needed to get the winning run on the board.

Aug 10, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz (background) makes an error during the seventh inning as Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler (foreground) watches against the Detroit Tigers at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

That being said, it was a very ugly game for the Rangers in the opener of the series against the Tigers. It wasn’t a must-win but it still was disheartening. And it doesn’t get any easier tomorrow when the Rangers, in their powder blues, will go up against Justin Verlander. Derek Holland goes for the Rangers.

A lot will be said about whether Ron Washington made the right decision to keep Feldman in the game against Fielder when he started to get into trouble and not going with Robbie Ross to get a lefty-lefty matchup. Feldman was going well in the game up to that point, and he has been the Rangers most reliable starter. However, he is still Scott Feldman and the batter was still Prince Fielder. I think Ross could have come in and done a better job, but that could just be the benefit of hindsight. It’s impossible for the result to have been any worse than what actually happened.

Josh Hamilton hit his league-lead tying 31st homerun and he looks like he is coming around as he also drew a walk and that is positive news for the Rangers as they go forward. The Hamilton watch will continue for the rest of the season as he tries to re-establish his worth going into what looks to be a very interesting free agency period for him.