Texas Rangers hit ground running: Add Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, Calhoun

This isn’t an easy offseason for the Texas Rangers to do business. Despite being flush with cash, 2021-2022 is not your typical MLB winter. The CBA is expiring and a work stoppage is possible. Once an agreement is made, there’s no telling what the new parameters will be.

Ideally, a responsible shopper would wait to see how things fall before committing large sums of money. Sadly, the Texas Rangers do not live in an ideal climate. There’s a good chance if they wait until everything is settled – everyone on the free agent market will be gone.

The Texas Rangers have had little choice in free agency. If they want to succeed this winter, they have to act boldly and aggressively. The current CBA expires end of day Wednesday meaning Texas had to act now or be content waiting, since all business pauses indefinitely until a new CBA is agreed on.

The Texas Rangers were hyperactive this weekend signing Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, and Kole Calhoun right out of the gate.

The headliner is clearly Marcus Semien. Signed to a seven-year $175 million deal, Semien is the largest signing since A-Rod. Unlike the A-Rod signing, more upgrades are expected to be made around him.

But similar to A-Rod, Texas had to overspend. No one expected Semien to reach the $175 million mark because no one expected him to sign a seven year deal. That’s how a 102-loss team like Texas was able to lure him. By adding an extra year (and extra $25 million) Texas separated from the pack.

Will they come to regret it?

Semien will be 37-years old in his final year under contract. As someone who has advanced beyond that age, it’s safe to say he will have declined to some degree by then. But the rewards of years one-through-five will hopefully outweigh those final lean years.

Besides, 2027 and 2028 are a long time away. Texas Rangers fans have waited long enough, everyone wants to win now. And with the new stadium inevitably losing its luster every year, everyone has to win right now. For a team like the Rangers, signing Marcus Semien is a clear win.

Texas followed it up by signing starting pitcher Jon Gray to a four-year $56 million deal. With a slew of young arms populating the rotation and nary a veteran in sight, the Rangers had to add someone to stabilize the starting rotation.

Calhoun rounded out the weekend haul with a one-year $5.2 million deal (with an option) to add some veteran stability to the Rangers outfield. In total it appears the Rangers spent about $236 million this weekend. How’s that for holiday shopping?

The best part is the Texas Rangers aren’t even done yet.

• Published on 11/29/2021 at 13:31 PM
• Last updated at 11/29/2021 at 13:35 PM