Young's stance understandable, but trading him would be tough pill to swallow

For the past week, trading Michael Young has dominated Rangers offseason baseball talk.

Young, who has played every game of his career with the Rangers since 2000, has requested a trade because he feels he's been "misled and manipulated" by the Texas front office.

Young has undoubtedly made offseason adjustments in the past for the better of the team. He switched from second base to shortstop for Alfonso Soriano in 2004. Five years later, he switched from shortstop to third base for Elvis Andrus. Now, president Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels are asking him to move from third base to designated hitter with the offseason acquisition of Adrian Beltre.

Apparently, Young had enough.

Young, 34, still feels like he can be an everyday player in the field. Since Texas can't promise him that, Young wants out.

No deal has been made yet. I get the sense this could turn into an awkward situation.

Young has three years and $48 million remaining on his contract. The chances of a team trading for Young and picking up that hefty sum is between slim and none. Yet, Daniels isn't just going to let Young walk, be traded and receive nothing in return. I don't blame him. Daniels has said the Rangers would accompany Young's request to be traded if it upgrades the team.

Except I don't see any team that would part with top-level prospects and/or eat most of Young's remaining salary.

What if JD and Nolan can't find a return that upgrades the club? Would Young still report to spring training on Feb. 17 in Surprise, Ariz.? Talk about awkward.

It's a shame it's come to this. Young has defined the Rangers for so many years, and he's one of my favorite athletes of all-time. I had a Twitter conversation with a few friends about greatest Rangers ever. Young is, without question, in the top three, along with Pudge Rodriguez and Nolan Ryan. He's been productive for so long that it's easy for fans to take his professionalism for granted.

When the Rangers advanced to the postseason last October, no one deserved it more than Young. He's wanted to be a Ranger all along. Mark Teixeira didn't. Neither did Alex Rodriguez, or, more recently, Cliff Lee. But Young did. So when Texas knocked out Teixeira, Rodriguez and the Yankees last postseason, it was that much sweeter. Young's loyalty was rewarded.

If he gets traded, it will be one of the toughest pills I've ever had to swallow as a Rangers fan. When Teixeira left, there was a super-talented youth movement in return that shaped the franchise for years to come. When A-Rod left, it was beyond necessary because management couldn't spend money on anyone else.

Plus, Teixeira had only been with the franchise for five years; A-Rod for three years. Young has been with the Rangers for 11 years.

I remember it well when Young was crowned 2005 American League batting champion. I watched the 2006 All-Star game when he won MVP. I enjoyed the five straight years he hit .300. I watched on mlb.tv as he became the all-time Rangers hits leader. Fittingly, the hit that broke the record was an RBI single up the middle in a clutch situation against the Marlins.

His leadership in the clubhouse can't be immediately replaced. Beltre may be a better option at third base. Maybe the Rangers can repeat as AL West champions in 2011 without Young. It's just extremely difficult to picture Young in any other uniform.