Arlington, TX (My Sportsbook) - Unhappy with the Rangers' request for him to shift to third base, Texas shortstop Michael Young has reportedly asked for a trade.

According to a story on the Rangers' official Web site, club general manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington asked Young during a meeting in December to make the shift. Texas wants to open a spot for minor league shortstop Elvis Andrus, one of the key pieces the Rangers acquired from the Braves in the July 31, 2007 trade that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta.

According to the story on Texas' site, Young is opposed to the move because he said Daniels and Washington didn't give him a choice and was instead told he would be the team's third baseman this upcoming season.

This is not the first time the Rangers have asked Young to switch positions. The 32-year-old began his career as a second baseman, but moved to short prior to the 2004 season when Texas traded Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees.

He has spent his last five seasons at shortstop, making five straight All-Star appearances while winning his first Gold Glove award in 2008. He has never had a fielding percentage below .972 since moving to short while continuing to be a force at the plate. Young hit .284 last season after batting over .300 in each of his previous five seasons.

Young also hit 12 homers with 82 runs batted in and 102 runs scored in 2008. He ended the season with 183 hits, ending a string of five consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits.

Despite the request, Daniels said in the report that no deal is looming with regards to Young, who signed a seven-year contract extension with Texas in March of 2007 that was to keep him with the club through the 2013 season.

In 1,216 career games -- all with the Rangers -- Young is hitting .300 with 115 homers, 652 RBI and 743 runs scored.