Astros, American League West Round Up Pre-Lockout

Texas Rangers

New Additions

• Kole Calhoun – OF
• Jon Gray – RHP
• Marcus Semien – 2B
• Corey Seager – SS

You certainly cannot fault the Rangers for going full-send on the free agent market this offseason season. They are coming off a 102-loss season, making it the fifth consecutive losing season for the other baseball team in Texas.

The Rangers went out and added two of the top free agents in the 2021-2022 offseason, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. If Carlos Correa opts to re-sign with the Astros, there’s little doubt that this new Rangers duo will be the best middle infield in the division.

The most interesting about these moves is the amount of money committed by the team. Star shortstop Corey Seager commanded a ten-year, $325 million contract. This blockbuster deal came after the Rangers had signed Marcus Semien to a seven-year, $175 million contract.

The Rangers also added veteran right fielder, Kole Calhoun, who Astros fans may remember from his time with the Los Angeles Angels. Jon Gray, former Colorado Rockies starting pitcher, inked a deal with the Rangers, as well.

For those who forgot their calculators, that is a grand total of $561 million in contract commitments. Yes, you read that right. The Rangers spent over a half-billion dollars during this free agency period.

The Rangers don’t appear to be done yet. They reportedly met with Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki and are high on him, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.

While spending a little over a half-billion dollars in free agency certainly won’t make them take a step back, they have a lot of ground to catch the Los Angeles Angels, much less the Seattle Mariners or Houston Astros in the AL West. The Rangers have a still-developing core of young players and a lot of holes in the rotation and bullpen.