Ian Kinsler is excited to start fresh with the Detroit Tigers after being traded for Prince Fielder. Unlike many players who are dealt, Kinsler is not wishing the best for his former team.
In an interview with ESPN the Magazine that was published on Tuesday, Kinsler called Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels a “sleazeball” for the way he has handled himself in recent years. For starters, Kinsler thought trading friend and former teammate Michael Young to the Phillies after the 2012 season was a huge mistake that left Kinsler with a role he disliked.
“It hurt us,” Kinsler said. “He held everything together. … I was bogged down. They wanted me to lead these young players, teach them the way to compete, when the only thing I should be worried about is how I’m performing in the game.”
The 31-year-old infielder said the Rangers asked him to move from second to first last season to make room for 19-year-old Jurickson Profar. Kinsler refused and told the team the youngster would have to earn it just like he did. By trading Kinsler, the team has now created a vacancy for Profar to fill.
“There was no remorse from the Rangers,” Kinsler said of the trade. “They did not care. The team had changed. It was not the same personalities, not the same players, not the same chemistry. To be traded, it was refreshing to start new.”
But the real hostility Kinsler feels is directed toward Daniels. We all know about the heated confrontation Daniels had with Nolan Ryan back in October, which may have ultimately led to Ryan’s departure from the organization.
“Daniels is a sleazeball,” Kinsler said. “He got in good with the owners and straight pushed Ryan out. He thought all the things he should get credit for, Ryan got credit for. It’s just ego. Once we went to the World Series, everybody’s ego got huge, except for Nolan’s.”
Kinsler also had a personal issue with Daniels, as he found out he was traded to the Tigers when a Dallas radio personality texted him for a comment about it. Adrian Beltre, who shares agent Scott Boras with Prince Fielder, confirmed the deal for Kinsler. Daniels was the last to contact his former second baseman.
“I want to be the one who tells Ian, but literally, the story breaks while I’m on a plane to Tucson,”Daniels said. “I feel bad that’s how he found out.”
If he actually does feel badly, Kinsler isn’t buying it. He is now rooting for the Rangers to fail.
“I’ll miss all my teammates,” he explained. “I’ll miss Elvis (Andrus) and Beltre, Mitch (Moreland), Matt Harrison and (Ron) Washington. To be honest with you, I hope they go 0-162. I got friends, and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their ass.”
To say that Kinsler is bitter would be an epic understatement.
