The upcoming free agent cla s of shortstops are going to be the most discu sed topic of the baseball offseason, outside of the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Players A sociation over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Surely, the new CBAor lack thereofwill affect this cla s and their suitors.Even so, the 26 clubs that are not playing baseball right now are putting their game plans together for the offseason. And in the coming months, five of the 30
Ezekiel Elliott Jersey clubsmaybe le swill commit a substantial amount of money to the crop of Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story and Javier Bez.The Texas Rangers front office and their pro scouts are meeting in Arizona this week to formulate their plans for acquiring more players, and the top players of the free agent marketyes, even the shortstopsare a key part of the discu sions.If this comes as a shock to you, or if the phrase, " entered your head when you read the paragraph above, it only echoes what the front office bluntly said in their end-of-season pre s conference earlier this month."We're going to be discu sing players in every category, every position, and every area of the market," said Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels on Oct. 6. "There's nobody that we're going to rule out because of a perceived price tag."So while Corey Seager is coming through in the clutch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston's Carlos Correa is stealing the show in the American League playoffs, many baseball writers, analysts, insiders and more are speculating where the quintet of shortstops will land this winter. And with everything that Rangers leadership is saying, fans in Dallas-Fort Worth are salivating at the thought of any of the five donning Rangers red, white and blue for the next several seasons.But what about two? how evaluators rank the five shortstops, and where each one might land. The Rangers were one of six teams mentioned as real players in the shortstop market, along with the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers
Trevon Diggs T Shirts , Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.Before you get too excited, one evaluator told Olney,"You might have 13 or 14 teams bidding on shortstops this winter." That's a lot of demand with a serious lack of supply.Regarding the Rangers, the po sibilities sound almost too good too be true, especially since the last contract the Rangers inked that was in exce s of three years was Shin-Soo Choo's seven-year deal in 2013. Neverthele s, here's what Olney wrote
Roger Staubach Jersey regarding the Rangers' situation:Scroll to ContinueSigning one of the five would be a major win for the Rangers. Signing two? That would be quite the pivot from "tear-down" mode to building a contender.From what we know at , the Rangers' plan is to acquire talent over the next couple of winters, not just a one-year overhaul. Of course, it doesn't mean the Rangers acquire two of the five shortstops and then add more next winter. Texas only has $28 million on the books for next season with a very small and inexpensive arbitration cla s. In 2023, only Jos Leclerc's $6 million club option is on the books.Add in that Daniels said the budget would be"consistent with the market and fan base of this size," that would mean the Rangers have money to spend. Lots of it.As far as who the Rangers might target, Olney lists the Rangers as a potential landing spot for all of the shortstops, except for Bez. The Seager/Woodward relationship remains consistent with what we know as well. One source tells that Chris Woodward covets Corey Seager, which does not come to any surprise given their days together in Los Angeles.As for what it will cost,
Deion Sanders Jersey Correa and Seagerdespite the concerns over their injuriesare poised to get the most money. They are the youngest in the cla s. Correa will be entering his age 27 season in 2022, while Seager is just five months older. Both are also putting on huge displays in the postseason, adding to their reputation of being great clubhouse guys and big-game players. Look for those contracts to push a decade in length, with one, if not both, earning at least $300 million.Story and Semien will get paid handsomely as well, but are a tad older. Story has just one more season before he turns 30, and Semien is entering his age 31 season. Their contracts may end up being in the seven-year range. When healthy, Story may be the best two-way shortstop in the cla s, but he is coming off a bit of a disappointing season. Teams may be hesitant to unload the same type of deal that Correa or Seager require.That being said, the ties between Story and his hometown Rangers go all the way back to before the 2021 regular season. One source confirmed with that the Rangers had serious
Dallas Cowboys Jersey interest in pursuing Story this winter. But now, it's unclear where Story ranks in their pecking orderseveral months later.The Rangers will surely have their hands full regarding the pursuit of any marquee free agent. There will be plenty of suitors, including the teams mentioned previously, and you can bet the Dodgers and Astros won't let Seager or Correa walk away easily. There will be a bidding war, and the CBA negotiations could play a huge factor into how the Rangersand the free agents themselvesattack the offseason.Buckle up. It's bound to be a fun winter.
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