Gerald Laird has been in a lot of the Texas Ranger trade rumors this year for a good reason. The reason? He has the potential to be one of the best hitting catchers in the majors. He has a decent idea about how to get on base and has decent power as well. Laird is not Mike Piazza but with the poor hitting at the catching position these days Laird can be very valuable. Last season for Oklahoma Laird had a .310/.380/.562 line. I wouldn't expect an average that high but he can definitely hit. Right now Laird is behind Rod Barajas but with a good spring he could easily snatch the job away. The Rangers want him to win the job and since the Rangers have managed to improve their starting rotation and bullpen without trading him I expect that Laird will indeed win the job.
Background:
Laird has battled injuries (and other players) while progressing towards the majors. He may start this year backing up Rod Barajas who secured himself in the role after Laird was hurt. Buck Showalter us a big fan which can only speed him into the job. In 2004 Showalter thought he might be a potential rookie of the year.
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| 2003 | TEX | 19 | 44 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .360 | .432 | .792 | |
| 2004 | TEX | 49 | 147 | 20 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 35 | 0 | 1 | .224 | .287 | .286 | .572 | |
| 2005 | TEX | 13 | 40 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .225 | .262 | .350 | .612 | |
| Career | 81 | 231 | 36 | 54 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 19 | 53 | 0 | 1 | .234 | .297 | .325 | .622 |
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