Rangers, Derek Holland Discussing Extension

9:24pm: The potential extension includes a club option for a sixth year, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com. 

12:29am: The Rangers are discussing a five-year extension with left-handed starter Derek Holland, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Holland missed this year's super two cutoff and is not yet arbitration eligible. A five-year deal would buy out one pre-arbitration season, his three years of arbitration eligibility and his first season of free agency.

Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill are unavoidable points of reference for the Rangers and the Martini Sports Management client. All five starters signed five-year deals in the $30MM range at similar stages in their respective careers. Holland has more career innings than any of those pitchers did at the time of their extensions, but none of them had a career ERA above 3.94 at the time of their deals, while Holland has a career mark of 4.73. Options are often a point of contention in extension talks, so it's worth noting that the deals for Cahill and Buchholz include two club options, while the other deals include just one.

Holland, 25, posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season. He set career highs in everything from ERA to innings to strikeouts (162) to wins above replacement (3.6). The Rangers control Holland's rights through 2015.