Michael Young Moving to 3rd, Wants to Be Traded???

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All-Star shortstop Michael Young will accept the Texas Rangers' decision to move him to third base and doesn't expect to be traded.

While the 32-year-old Young said Thursday he doesn't think it's the right time in his career to switch positions again, he said he's ready to focus on preparing for next season and he didn't want the pending switch to be a distraction to him or the team.

"After some careful consideration over the last month or so and in an effort not to let this thing drag out," Young said during a conference call, "I decided to put an end to this and start bearing down on playing third base."

Texas general manager Jon Daniels confirmed Sunday night that the Rangers were exploring trade options at Young's request. The Rangers first spoke with Young last month about moving to third to make room for touted prospect Elvis Andrus at shortstop.

Young switched from second base to shortstop in the spring of 2004 after the Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees. Since then, Young has made the AL All-Star team at shortstop all five seasons, and last year he won his first Gold Glove.