You want options?

The Texas Rangers have options.

With third basemen Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock on the cusp of long, highly productive careers, no team has more enviable infield choices than Texas. The mix of run-producers and reliable fielders could give the Rangers a chance to contend as early as 2004, when Oakland begins life without Miguel Tejada and Seattle reluctantly admits that Edgar Martinez and Jamie Moyer can't last forever.

	Hank Blalock should get the AL third-base nod.

Shortstop Alex Rodriguez is the only long-term certainty in a fluid mix of possibilities that include veterans Rafael Palmeiro and Herbert Perry and underappreciated youngster Michael Young.

It will be interesting to see how new manager Buck Showalter lines these guys up after using 2003 to get a read. It's likely the Rangers will open the upcoming season in the same alignment they used out of the chute last year -- Blalock at third, Rodriguez at short, Young at second and Palmeiro at first.

But offensive-minded GM John Hart is intrigued by the prospect of playing both the switch-hitting Teixeira and the left-handed-hitting Blalock alongside Rodriguez and Palmeiro, so Blalock will work at second base in spring training.

And what about Perry? His .813 OPS last season ranked him sixth among the American League's primary third basemen, surprisingly close to the likes of Eric Chavez (.861), Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske (.846) and Robin Ventura (.823). He was smart enough to sign a two-year extension last September -- after the icy winter for free agents -- and provides a decent option if neither of the 22-year-olds, Blalock and Teixeira, is deemed ready.

There is a dizzying array of moving parts in play. Consider these questions:

1. Can Teixeira field the ball well enough to stay at third? Can he stay healthy?
No one who saw him play in the Arizona Fall League -- or as a freshman and sophomore at Georgia Tech, for that matter -- doubts he will be a devastating hitter.

Scouts rave about how his stroke is the same from both sides of the plate and how he rarely gets himself out chasing bad pitches. In his first pro season, he tore up both the Florida State League and the Texas League (.318 with 19 homers and a 1.005 OPS).

But Teixeira (pronounced ta-share-a) has had a series of injuries since breaking his right ankle early in his junior year at Georgia Tech. He was sidelined early last season with an elbow injury and had to leave the AFL early because of an abdominal strain. These extended absences have kept him from improving as a fielder. He's considered below average and is a candidate to wind up at first base.

Some in the Texas organization believe he should be allowed to work on his fielding at Triple-A, rather than learning in the majors.

2. Is Blalock as good as advertised?
A two-time high school All-American in San Diego, Blalock was a third-round pick in the 1999 draft. He leapt loudly onto the radar screen in 2001 by hitting .352 between high-A and Double-A and then destroyed the Fall League, setting an AFL record for slugging and tying the mark for homers. But, in 20/20 hindsight, the Rangers made a major mistake by initially allowing him to skip Triple-A.

Blalock crashed and burned after winning the third base job last spring. He showed surprising impatience for such a high on-base percentage hitter in the minors, winding up with one-ball, two-strike counts in almost one-third of his big-league at-bats. His .211 average was a shock, but Hart & Co. were encouraged when he regrouped at Triple-A Oklahoma.

Trying to exploit the Rangers' need for pitching, team after team approached Hart about Blalock during the offseason. All were told not to bother calling back unless they were willing to include young, elite starters. The Rangers' faith in Blalock remains strong.

3. Is this Palmeiro's last season in Texas?
His five-year, $45-million deal ends after 2003, and Hart has yet to approach him about a contract extension. It's a matter of concern for Palmeiro, who wants to continue pursuing a spot in Cooperstown while based in Texas. Why not? He has averaged one homer every 11.2 at-bats at The Ballpark in Arlington.

	Rafael Palmeiro First baseman Texas Rangers Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM AB R HR RBI AVG 155 546 99 43 105 .273

But this will be a difficult decision for a franchise that has hemorrhaged money since signing Rodriguez in the funny-money climate that existed at the end of the old labor contract. It would be easier if Palmeiro had slipped. But he hasn't.

He has an eight-year streak in which he has had at least 38 homers and 104 RBI. His .962 OPS last season ranked behind only Jim Thome, Jason Giambi and Mike Sweeney among first-base regulars.

"People make too much about age,'' said Palmeiro, 38. "I feel great. I've been here for some bad years. I want to be here when we start winning again.''

Palmeiro, a three-time Gold Glover, is an ironman who has played with pain in his knees for years. He remains an above-average fielder. Yet many feel the only way he'll finish his career in Texas is if he agrees to a major pay cut and a move to designated hitter.

4. Shouldn't there be room for a glove man somewhere?
In another age, Young might be celebrated as a rising star. Instead he's an invisible man in this one.

Young hit .262 with nine homers and 62 RBI while playing Gold Glove-level defense at second last year. That performance compares favorably to Nellie Fox in 1950, which was his first full season in the majors. Mix in a few more stolen bases and fewer strikeouts and it's right there with Frank White in some of his All-Star seasons.

But Young will go to camp under orders to raise his game.

"Nobody is saying Mike Young is not going to be our second baseman,'' assistant GM Grady Fuson recently said. "But he has not performed on offense like he is capable of doing. We appreciate the well above-average defense and athleticism he brings, but he needs to do more things on offense.''

Young's 112 strikeouts were an issue. They'll be viewed as more of a flaw if Blalock hints that he can do an adequate job turning the double play. Center field, where defense is the priority at The Ballpark in Arlington, could be a long-range option.

It's anyone's guess how this sorts itself out. Here are some of the infield combinations in play for 2004:

1B	2B	SS	3B	DH/Other
Teixeira	Young	Rodriguez	Blalock	Palmeiro
Palmeiro	Young	Rodriguez	Blalock	Teixeira
Palmeiro	Young	Rodriguez	Teixeira	Blalock
Palmeiro	Blalock	Rodriguez	Teixeria	Perry, etc./Young, CF
Teixeira	Blalock	Rodriguez	Perry	Palmeiro/Young, CF

But the best guess here is that the answer will be none of the above. For a one-dimensional team like Texas, which ranked 14th, 14th and 12th in staff ERA over the past three seasons, the only prudent way to deal with this puzzle is to use the abundance to acquire badly needed pitching.

Hart made one such move a year ago, swapping Carlos Pena to Oakland for a package of minor-leaguers headed by left-hander Mario Ramos. That trade is yet to pay off but shouldn't stop Hart from doing the right thing -- that's to find a way to work around Palmeiro's no-trade clause to send him to a contender for a pitching-heavy package at midseason.

Imagine the impact Palmeiro could have in Minnesota if owner Carl Pohlad was willing to pay him. He would be invaluable to any AL contender that loses a middle-of-the-order hitter to injury and represents a significant upgrade for teams such as Boston, Oakland, Atlanta and San Francisco.

That leads us here:

1B	2B	SS	3B	DH/Other
Teixeira	Young	Rodriguez	Blalock	Perry, etc./Two impact pitching prospects

In this mix, the entire infield is under Texas' control through 2007. It's going to take patience to build a pitching staff and outlast the dominance of Oakland's three-headed beast, but at some point talent will prevail. Good times will roll.

But Palmeiro probably won't be around long enough to be part of it.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.