First, what happens to Frank Catalanotto and Chris Shelton when Blalock returns?

Secondly, does this mean Michael Young is headed for third base?

Young has the answer to the second question.

"Absolutely not," he said before the Rangers' game with the Twins at the Metrodome on Monday night. "It hasn't been brought up. It hasn't been brought up to me, so it hasn't been brought up."

Blalock, who is on the disabled list with a partially torn hamstring muscle, told the Rangers over the weekend that he is willing to move to first base. The club agreed, and Blalock is currently working out at the Rangers' Spring Training complex in Arizona. He went 2-for-4 in an extended spring training game, playing five innings at first base.

He could be activated and playing first base for the Rangers as early as Friday in Cleveland. Ramon Vazquez and German Duran will continue to handle third base, as they have since Blalock went on the disabled list.

Young will stay at shortstop. Club officials have not approached him about moving to third base and have no immediate plans to do so. They will not do anything until speaking with him, but it has been talked about internally, especially with the possibility that Double-A Frisco shortstop Elvus Andrus could be ready for the Major Leagues in the next year or two.

Young isn't particularly interested in moving.

"There is no reason for me to move to third base," Young said. "I can't envision what's going to happen down the road, but for right now and the near future, any position other than shortstop is not an option."

Entering Monday's game, Young was second among American League shortstops in fielding percentage, third in double plays and fifth in range factor. Andrus is hitting .271 at Double A Oklahoma with 13 errors in 40 games.

There is feeling among Major League officials that Andrus could come quickly, but people thought the same about Joaquin Arias, who is still trying to recover from shoulder problems. Andrus is far from ready right now offensively, but is considered a premier defensive player.

Nothing is imminent and Young doesn't expect anything to happen soon.

"If something happens down the road and the team is better served by me moving, I'm sure there will be some discussions," Young said. "But the time is not now, and I don't see it in the near future."

Catalanotto and Shelton will certainly lose playing time when Blalock returns and becomes the regular first baseman. The news was broken to Catalanotto over the weekend in meetings with manager Ron Washington and general manager Jon Daniels.

"They just told me what's going to happen and they feel it's what's best for the team," Catalanotto said. "I'm not happy about it, but it's tough to cry or complain because right now I'm not swinging the bat as well as I should. That plays into it."

Catalanotto went into Monday's game hitting .258 on the year although he is hitting .281 with a .378 on-base percentage in the month of May. Shelton has also started to warm up recently, recording six hits in his last 17 at-bats.

Catalanotto's biggest impediment to playing time is not Blalock, but Milton Bradley. Catalanotto came into the season as the Rangers' primary designated hitter, but Bradley has had to start there in 31 of 45 games because of his various leg ailments. Catalanotto has started at DH just six times.

Bradley will not start in the outfield while the Rangers are in Minnesota because Washington doesn't want him running around on the unforgiving artificial turf. He could be out there this weekend on the natural turf in Cleveland.

"Once we get Milton in the outfield, that will clear up the DH spot for Cat," Washington said. "We'll still play [Catalanotto] some in the outfield and try to get him some at-bats anyway we can. Cat is a class act."

Bradley, who had knee surgery at the end of the 2007 season, has made just seven starts in the outfield so far this year. The knee is not the only problem though, as Bradley has also had to deal with hamstring issues that have made Washington reluctant to use him in the outfield. Washington would still like to get him back out there more often than once a week.

"I'm not saying we're going to run him out there five days in a row," Washington said. "But maybe get him out there two or three days in a row, give him a break, let him DH and then maybe two or three more in a row. We'll see how that works out."

The Rangers will know more when Blalock returns, but his move to first base certainly has implications in several areas.