Earlier today, the Rangers officially announced their deal with pitcher Tommy Hanson. The contract will reportedly give Hanson the ability to earn as much as $3.6MM if everything goes his way but also minimizes the Rangers' risk in the event that he doesn't break through to the big league roster or find success on the varsity squad. Should things go well, Hanson is controllable through the 2015 season via arbitration. On this afternoon's conference call, I asked the former top prospect about the interest he received from other clubs and what led him to ultimately choose the Rangers.
"There were quite a few [other teams with interest] but I left that to my agent," said the 6'6" hurler. "The Rangers have a great team and we thought that was going to be the best fit for me with being able to go in and make the rotation and be a part of the team, so ultimately we thought that was the best opportunity for me."
General Manager Jon Daniels was also on the line and I asked him if Hanson would be the final significant addition for him between now and Opening Day.
"As of right now it is. We don't have any other offers out there and I think that there's no definite end to the offseason anymore. It's a 24/7/365 thing but we don't have anything else in the works right now at this point," said the GM.
Hanson has had to battle his way through injuries and issues with his mechanics in recent years, but the real adversity he has faced has come from his personal life. The pitcher suffered the tragic loss of his younger step-brother early in the 2013 season, and as he told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, he had an understandably difficult time coping with it. Hanson has had quite a bit to overcome, but both he and the Rangers are confident that he will recapture some of his past magic in 2014.
