DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Texas Rangers are ready to start spending again as MLB free agency resumed on Thursday night after the league's owners and the MLB Players Association came to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Before the lockout, the Rangers made two splashes in free agency, signing shortstops Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to massive, long-term contracts. The club also locked up starting pitcher Jon Gray on a four-year, $56 million deal, and signed outfielder Kole Calhoun to a one-year, $5.2 million deal, with a club option for 2023.
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Despite those investments, the Rangers still had money to dish out, but the lockout put a long pause on their roster re-tooling. Now that the lockout is over, what's next?
"I think as we assess the roster and the needs, probably the two biggest ones we'd like to address are starting pitching and potentially corner outfielder. We're just evaluating the market right now and having preliminary conversations and seeing where those lead," Rangers general manager Chris Young said Friday.
The Rangers were rumored to be interested in Dodgers free agent pitcher and Dallas native Clayton Kershaw, and Japanese free agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki, before the work stoppage.
Young, nor president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, commented on their interest in specific players Friday.
"In talking with ownership, their desire to continue to improve the club, I think it evolved over the winter. I think with the four additions beforehand, we probably did most of our heavy lifting at that point. As (Chris Young) said, we still have some areas on the roster that we want to upgrade. What those ultimately look like will depend on what the market is and the acquisition cost, obviously," Daniels said.
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