The Rangers farm system was at its absolute best from 1987-90 during the Tom Grieve-Sandy Johnson era, but the decline started when they included outfielder Sammy Sosa and pitcher Wilson Alvarez in a trade for Harold Baines in 1989. Daniels clearly won't make a similar mistake with the crown jewels of the franchise. You don't start trading off premium prospects when you're rebuilding program is nowhere near the finish line. Those deals are only done when you feel a World Series title is within your grasp.

We all know the Rangers need middle relief help, but who are some names out there that could help them?
-- Ian B., Plano, Texas

Rockies left-hander Brian Fuentes, a free agent after the season, could be the best but could cost the most. The struggling Padres may talk about right-handers Heath Bell and Cla Meredith. If the Indians are sellers, then teams will want to talk about right-hander Rafael Betancourt or they could be calling the Nationals about right-hander Jon Rauch, the Mets about Aaron Heilman or the Giants about Kevin Correia. The Yankees will probably want to shed themselves of LaTroy Hawkins, who is not doing well in New York, but has pitched well in other places.

I was recently looking through some rumors and I came across one stating that the Rangers could possibly entice Chipper Jones to come to the Rangers with a good deal. He has a ranch around the area and I would love to see Chipper come to the Rangers and have a chance to hit in this ballpark. Do you think the Rangers will seriously make an offer to get Jones here?
-- Matt S., Texas

His ranch is in Carrizo Springs way down in South Texas. Jones has made it clear he wants to play for the Braves the rest of his career and has shown to be financially accommodating to make that happen.

Do the Rangers, or any big league team for that matter, ever hold tryouts? How can an aspiring player get their shot to play baseball?
-- Phil M., Plano, Texas

The Rangers don't, but the Major League Scouting Bureau does. Here is the link to its schedule of tryouts. Any interesting players are forwarded to the 30 clubs. Playing for an independent team is also a great way to get noticed.

While playing at an American League park, can you use your pitcher as a pinch-hitter?
-- Grant G., Aledo, Texas

Absolutely. It happens once in a blue moon. Bobby Witt did so for the Rangers, I believe, on occasion.

I think it is about time that we stop relying on Joaquin Benoit based on his success last year. He is not the same pitcher. Do you think that Frankie Francisco is a viable option, or should we look elsewhere?
-- Jeremy L., Waco, Texas

Benoit is not 100 percent physically. The Rangers are expecting him to be ready to pitch on Tuesday, but it's clear that Benoit has been having some physical issues in his shoulder that were not there last year. It will be interesting to watch how the Rangers handle him in the next few weeks, but it looks like Eddie Guardado will get most of the eighth inning work for at least the time being.

I'm very confused why they are so angry with Sidney Ponson. The only thing he wants to do is to win games, and that's not the attitude of the manager and players who have to learn to play their positions. Since he was called up the Rangers had changed from a losing team to a winning team, now they will let him go and they don't need him anymore?
-- Edgard V., Aruba

Have a question about the Rangers? E-mail your query to MLB.com Rangers beat reporter T.R. Sullivan for possible inclusion in a future Inbox column. Letters may be edited for brevity, length and/or content. First Name, Last Initial: Hometown: Email Address: Question:

Ponson and the Rangers were a good marriage. They both desperately needed each other. He was a big part of their success and it should never have come to pass that the two split ways. But Ponson seemed to facilitate the breakup as much as the Rangers and his behavior seemed curious.

What monetary bonus (if any) does Josh Hamilton receive via the Rangers or MLB for being awarded the American League Player of the Month back to back?
-- Brandon T., Frisco, Texas

None, but he gets two big television screens from the sponsors to watch classic reruns of Barney Miller.

I read that Bill Hall wants a trade from the Brewers. Would he be a good fit at third base for us?
-- Wayne K., Dumas, Texas

He appears to be upset because he must platoon with Russell Branyon, but he would have to do that in Texas with Ramon Vazquez, so that's probably not a good fit.

You said in the last Rangers mailbag that the Rangers are desperately looking for a center fielder of the future so Josh Hamilton can slide over the right field. Is that guy Julio Borbon?
-- Aimee K., Midland, Texas

Borbon is in his first full season in professional baseball and has played 56 games at Class A Bakersfield, hitting .312 with 41 runs scored and 31 stolen bases in 247 at-bats. Those are good numbers. He's definitely somebody to watch, but probably won't get to the big leagues before 2010.

Who is this guy Brian Gordon pitching for Frisco? His stats are very good!
-- Zack W., Fort Worth, Texas

He was an outfielder for 10 seasons before switching to pitching in 2007. The Rangers signed him after he was let go by the Astros early in the season. He had a 2.88 ERA at Frisco and has since been promoted to Oklahoma.

Do the players receive compensation for their names and numbers on shirts sold at the ballpark?
-- Warren C., Proctor, Texas

In addition to their contracts, they get "licensing money" from the Players Association each year. That's each player's cut of the money that companies and businesses have to pay for permission (or a license) to use the players' names, numbers, images, what have you.

What do you think of an additional umpire backed up to the warning track or center field area for making home run or ground-rule double calls? That is what Bob Brenly suggested during a recent Cubs broadcast.
-- Ty S., West Monroe, La.

One umpire calling the entire outfield? Plus, he won't be able to see the foul poles. That seems a bit too much for one guy. Instant replay seems to make much more sense than that.

There are still a lot of folks out there that think we erred in sending Edinson Volquez to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton. First, I would say there is no guarantee that he would pitch as well here as he is for the Reds. Comments?
-- Jim B., Denton, Texas

I think that's a valid observation.

Why can't any of our pitchers throw a darn strike? The only pitcher I have confidence in is Eddie Guardado and he only pitches to lefties! I'm not out of high school yet and could probably throw more strikes!
-- Ben G., McKinney, Texas

Yeah, but how are you doing in algebra and chemistry?