The club has an option on Blalock for the 2009 season at $6.2 million. Or the Rangers can pay $250,000 to end a relationship that dates back to 1999, when Blalock was the team's third-round draft selection.

Earlier this season, it was looking more and more like Blalock would be out of the picture. He spent significant amount of time on the disabled list for the second straight year. When he returned, he had to move across the infield to first, where the Rangers had already installed power-hitting rookie Chris Davis. Davis moved to third to accommodate Blalock's inability to make throws across the infield.

The decision on whether to keep Blalock, who doesn't turn 28 until November, likely comes down to whether the club believes he can recapture the swing that made him such a hot commodity in 2003 and 2004. GM Jon Daniels said earlier this month that a decision on whether to bring Blalock back might boil down to offense.

Over the last couple of weeks, he's shown signs of being the Blalock of old. He hit a ninth-inning home run Monday to tie up a game with Oakland and then led off the 11th inning of a 4-3 loss with a single. Over his last 12 games, Blalock is hitting .378 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. He also has five walks in that span to give him a .431 on-base percentage in that span.

A'S 4, RANGERS 3 (11 innings): The Rangers fell back into familiar territory -- the bottom half of the AL West -- to start the final week of the season. Despite a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, the Rangers fell in 11 innings Monday, losing for the fourth straight game. It dropped them a half-game behind Oakland into third place in the AL West. The Rangers have not finished above third in the division since winning it in 1999. The loss also clinched a losing season for the Rangers, who are 75-82 with five games to play. They have had just one winning season since 1999, as well. The Rangers have two more games with Oakland remaining and must win both to move back into second. The A's finish the season with three games at last-place Seattle while the Rangers visit AL West champion Los Angeles.