Texas Rangers Rumors: Five Significant Free Agent Targets
By Cody Smith
As the MLB’s off-season is progressing, the rumors of who the Texas Rangers may target during free agency has started to ramp up.
Today, we will take a look at who some of the top targets for the Texas Rangers will be for this off-season, accounting for the players that they are being rumored to target in free agency.
The top of the market free agent arm, Gerrit Cole, is expected to receive a huge contract from whoever he signs with, because there could eventually be a bidding war between multiple teams, of which the Texas Rangers could join the likes of the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and San Diego Padres.
To sign Cole, the number of years should be around seven, but a team may go to eight to give him gain an advantage. Now in terms of money, Cole is going to become a bidding war between all the previous teams mentioned, and the money could start at seven years for $210 million, but could work its way up to an eight years and $300 million deal.
Donaldson will be 34 at the start of the 2020 season, and he will more than likely be the plan B for the teams that go after Anthony Rendon, and fail to sign him. But for the Texas Rangers, he could be their plan A. Donaldson would be the perfect fill-in for the Rangers, as they wait on their young 3rd base prospects (Josh Jung, Davis Wendzel) to be major league ready at about the time Donaldson’s contract would be over.
In order to sign Donaldson, the Rangers would likely be competing with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and the teams that misses out on Anthony Rendon. His deal could range between two to three years. A likely contract that the Rangers would probably happily give him would be a 3 year deal for $45 to $50 million with some sort of buyout available for the third year.
In order to get David Price, the Texas Rangers would have to acquire him via trade with the Boston Red Sox, as they may look to attempt to try to deal some of their highly paid pitchers in order to drop below the tax line. The cost for Price would probably be something like a mid-level prospect or two.
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4. Anthony Rendon
The top position player on the market, Rendon is going to drive a high price after his terrific season that concluded with him winning the World Series. The 29 year-old will be the recipient of a massive contract once his bidding war is concluded. Rendon is likely going to be chased by a plethora of teams, which will include the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals.
The cost for Rendon will be similar to Gerrit Cole, as he will likely receive a deal around seven years, worth somewhere around or over $210 million.
5. Hyun-jin Ryu
Ryu has posted two terrific seasons in a row, with an ERA of 2.21 across 44 starts for the Dodgers. Unfortunately for his side of the contract negotiations, he will be 33 come Opening Day, which will not only limit the money he will receive, but also the number of years he would get as well.
Next. Rangers: A big trade is on the way. dark
Ryu will likely have a market across most of the teams in the MLB, so where he signs may depend more on long-term security than the average amount of money per year. That being said, I would be perfectly fine if the Rangers were to give him a similar deal as Donaldson that is 3 years for $45-$50 million, and would be fine if they added a fourth year that they could buy out if they wanted to.
- Published on 11/11/2019 at 13:01 PM
- Last updated at 11/11/2019 at 08:29 AM