The Rangers were in on free agent Anthony Rendon to the tune of $32MM per year for six years, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. The total 6-year, $192MM package landed a year and $53MM short of the winning bid. Heyman points out that the lack of an income tax in Texas put the dollar value of the Rangers’ offer more-or-less in-line with the contract Rendon ultimately signed. The extra year made the difference for both player and team in this case. Rendon will turn 37-years-old in June of his seventh contract year with the Angels.
Though they’ve yet to land a big bat (and reportedly will not push to sign Josh Donaldson), the Rangers have made strides to improve their rotation with the additions of Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles. While reliable rotation arms don’t equate to a star signing like Rendon, for the Rangers, they are critical additions. Of course, part of this gambit assumes Lyles pitches more like he did in Milwaukee (2.45 ERA) and less like he did in Pittsburgh (5.36 ERA).
The sky is the ceiling when pitchers switch teams nowadays, however, as the reworking of arsenals and usage patterns has rapidly become the norm. For Lyles, much of the improvement his experienced in Milwaukee can be attributed to moving from a sinker to a four-seamer and swapping out a slider for a curveball, per Evan Grant of the Dallas News. The Rangers also see Lyles as a sort of developmental descendent of Lance Lynn, who made a similar switch to a four-seamer in Texas. The Rangers believe Lynn will be a positive influence for Lyles as he tries to perform with more consistency.
For his part, Lyles credits the urgency of a playoff push and his chemistry with catcher Yasmani Grandal as a driving factor of his late-season success. The Rangers’ catching situation is far from settled, with Jeff Mathis the closest defensive equivalent to Grandal in terms of pedigree. It will be an uphill battle for the Rangers’ to put themselves in the playoff race, though Gibson and Lyles raising the floor of the rotation goes a long way to fixing the issues of 2019. Still, the Astros, A’s, and Angels are all pushing for contention, while the Mariners are gearing up for a push in 2021.
Rangers will semi contend but fall way short.
Likely to contend more (at least longer term) without this imminent albatross of a contract.
yes, but ahead of Angles
Ahead of the Circumferences too
What about Pi?
Sadly, always
forgotten…..
Any time is a good time for Pi
Same thing your mom said about you
In other words, this week has sucked for Rangers fans. I’m starting to buy into the idea of dealing for Bryant. I’d prefer we keep Jung, Huff and Crouse though so it might be near impossible to make that work.
Cub fan here , what trade package would be good for both teams ? I’ve looked at Braves and Phillies but thought rangers had rendon
It just depends on what the Cubs think they can squeeze out of a team. As a Ranger fan, I think Winn/Taveras/Apostel is a pretty good return. But there are Chicago fans who would most certainly think I’m being cheap.
Yeah I feel like they would want Jung in any package for Bryant.
Not worth trading for Kris Bryant. He only has two seasons of control left. If we’re going to make a trade for a 3rd basemen it needs to be someone who can contribute more long term. Ex: Nolan Arrenado, Miguel Andujar
Lol @ Andujar. Not happening
Arenado can opt out in two years and he’ll be much more expensive than Bryant. No thanks on Andujar.
Oh well you can get Andujar much much cheaper but do not see how that improves the team since he is not too good
Idk, as a fan, I don’t think I would want my team trading away what it would take to get Bryant when you do not really know if you will have him for only a year or 2 years.. Plus, then he will definitely be leaving after that, so why mortgage the future prospects for only 2 years max..
They reportedly wanted Robles from Washington, who was their top prospect going into last season..So, I’d imagine they’d want Pache plus some, since he is less proven..No thanks
It’s gonna be 2 years of control left. They aren’t going to upend a whole system to make 1 agent happy
Rules are rules. Their is no exception for “well it’s obvious he should have been promoted.” SMH…..
If I were a Rangers fan I’d be very relieved not to have signed Rendon. Not the talent you try to build your team around.
As a Nats fan, I couldn’t disagree more. Anthony Rendon is exactly the type of talent/player you can and should build around.
I appreciate your perspective, but not at that age, not at that price. Awful deal from the get go (and by a team that’s hurt itself badly with bad deals over the years).
@dimitrios in la Someone is bitter their team didn’t get him. Would have been a wonderful deal if your team signed him and that’s all we’d be hearing from you.
Their new stadium also caught on fire today so there’s that…
If Donaldson wants more than $80MM. Then the Rangers better make a run at Arenado if he agrees to give up the opt out and make them send us Gray if they want our top 3 prospects and if the want to add one of their expensive relievers we can pay half the salary.
Crouse, Jung, Huff, Thompson, Apostel, Hernandez, Henriquez, Hearns and Juan Pablo Martinez.
Best for rangers is to keep building. Not go all in on free agents. Right now Donaldson will be a over pay to who signs him.
I hate to say it but I agree…I was hoping we landed Rendon. He fit everything Texas needed in a veteran presence, a lock in a position, and an elite RH bat. I still think we can hang with LA but HOU is still going to run away with this division by a long shot. Might as well take another year or two to stockpile talent at all levels…at least our restoration projects will be in the AC.
Teams are pulling in more revenue than ever. They also have a big collective bargaining agreement to hash out in the not so distant future. I’d say this spending of money is certainly correlated. Relieves some of the tension when your teams just came off a spending flurry.
Texas is in a spot where they should really sell rentals, IMO. They aren’t making the playoffs with that roster. Overpaying Donaldson still doesn’t put them in. I don’t have a problem if they want to go for it but I don’t think that’s the best long term strategy. I can see a team like the Nats or Braves givIng Donaldson the money because he’s one of (if not the only) missing piece.
I’d deal Minor and shop Leclerc. Leclerc is just too volatile and Minor is a rental. They can sign Minor back after this year when they may actually be contending.
Over pay seems like an understatement at this point.
I dont think the ranger are even close contend this year, they are in rebuild mode still. They need at least two big bats in their lineup
The income tax thing is so overrated. The players are taxed in each state that they play in, so any tax difference is seen only on home games. On this particular deal Rendon still lands in the AL West, so 3 of his division rivals (Houston, Texas & Seattle) are state income tax free.
I really hope the Rangers offered more reasoning than “but the taxes” for why they lowballed him by $53 million.
Sounds like a cop out to be cheap. Daniels is a parasite and needs to be fired.
In what universe is offering a guy $193,000,000.00 to play a child’s game considered to be cheap?
When it’s a rando on a website spending someone else’s money.
Whether you think it’s cheap or not, letting the numbers of your offer leak out and trying to justify offering $53 million less than the next guy is not a good look.
It’s especially not a good look when the owner is moving his team into a stadium that he only funded half of.
MLB is a multi BILLION dollar universe and the other offer was $53m more. Could it be more obvious Vin?
The Ranger offer 6/193 wasn’t even close to the Nats last known offer of 6/200-210.
Exactly. He turned that down in September. Bottom line is they made an offer but were never truly involved. Just wanted to create some hype for a couple months to sell a few tickets.
Half?
Really?
That’s
shocking…..
It’s cheap because they made the offer knowing he wouldn’t accept it. Then they tell the fans, we really tried. I’d be fine with it if they had said that they weren’t really in on him but their front office made a point of saying he was a big target.
9.5 on the snark-O-meter. Loving it.
Also, use normal people like us tend to actually pay out taxes at a pretty steady percentage. People in this income bracket…not so much.
Wow “lowballed” what the hell is going on in this comment section. They made an offer it wasn’t the highest so Rendon signed elsewhere. If they offered cole 8 years 300 mil would that also be a “lowball”. The market shifts by the second. You guys act like they were trying to screw him or something, he was a free agent, and it was a competitive offer
Rightly so. Whatever lack of income tax Texas offers, they make it up in property tax.
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Our property tax RATES might be higher, but our property is CHEAP. My house is 1610 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 3 storage buildings, a greenhouse and a garage on half an acre and it set me back $72k just 3 years ago… How much would that go for in California or somewhere in the northeast? Easily 4x as much.
Well said. I agree 100% on the income tax thing
There’s been reports that KC maybe looking to address their 3B situation while at the same time, there was a report about them listening to any inquiries about Hunter Dozier. He had a breakout season & is highly controllable while being a native of Northern Texas.
What say you Ranger fans?
If that is an option, yes please. But even though KC would want a king’s ransom, he would be a young bat that can fit into our Gallo, Calhoun, Trevino, and Mazara-less core.
Cardinals can give the Rangers Matt Carpenter in exchange for a bucket of baseball’s…Nah that would still be an overpay on the Rangers part for Carpenter LOL
So Angels apparently up to their favorite game again – bidding against themselves. No offer from LAD, $192 million from Texas. So, we’ll pay…$245 million. Hmm. Pujols, Hamilton, Cozart… Been pretty rough going since the Vlad signing nearly twenty years ago.
The Texas offer was crap, even the Nats had offered a 6/200-210m contract before free agency started, which was rejected. In this market how can you realistically think 6/192 gets it done. Lol even MLBTR estimated 7/235.
nats offer was less then Texas due to taxes in dc, vs no tax in Texas
Any offer NOT starting with a 2 was a lowball offer.
AND no deferred money.
That’s why Boras gets the big bucks. He’s the best agent in pro sports period. He’s got a resume of clients totalling over $2 billion of negotiated contracts! If I was an owner I’d hate negotiating him lol
People don’t realize this, but last year the rangers were in the WC race for a long time, then in mid August their pitching finally did what it was supposed to do and it sucked (besides Minor and Lynn). I think adding two pitchers who are pretty much bounce-back candidates like Minor and Lynn were, doesn’t make Texas a WC team, but it takes a big load off of the offense. Non-rangers fans may not know this, but last year Texas was like 2nd or 3rd in Runs Per Game, to only Boston and I THINK Minnesota. People are saying the rangers should keep the “rebuild” going this offseason, but I think the rangers need to go out and get at LEAST castellanos this offseason, because he truly is a big RH bat that the line-up desperately needs. I keep telling myself this, but Texas will not make the WC next year even with new bats, but if we go out and get castellanos, maybe Kyle Seager, and PLEASE Chirinos, it shows that we are wanting to create a winning environment going into 2021 were we will be contenders.
That 13.3% income tax in Cali is killer in the top tax bracket..Cali has the most debt in the country and highest income tax.. hilarious. Rendon got that year and the Cali lifestyle and the best player in the game in Trout on his team so definitely worth it.
My Rangers have turned into big time Ballers!!
Low Ballers, that is!
Go ahead and blow the prospects we’ve managed to build up in acquiring Arenado!!
BRILLIANT!!
I’d rather take a chance on Kyle Segar at this point!
So much potential in Gallo, Calhoun, Santana, Trevino, and so much proven talent in Andrus, Choo, Odor, Minor, and Lynn. Yet they still refuse to fill holes with decent player, and if I were the rangers, I’d be sparking trade talks right now for a 3b man, and not Arenado…. I think the ranger killer Kyle Seager can get over here. And then Chirinos and Castellanos. Thats it, you filled your biggest holes… and if you can, go get Josh Bell… please…
Odor “unproved” himself last year…..
You are obviously a Rangers fan giving your screen name and you making your GM out to be Brian Cashman. The team was 78-84 and as Bill Parcells used to always say you are what your record says you are.
Yes I am a Rangers fan. But judging a team by their recording isn’t necessarily always right, the astros went through a six year rebuild and they were praised. You can praise a team despite what their record is, even though it might speak otherwise.
I think patch work is the way to go. Move a prospect (Eli White) to San Francisco for Longoria. 3rd base covered. Giants get payroll relief.
No.
Well, there’s always Franco I guess.
If I was the GM of the Rangers. I’d have a 3 year re-build plan.
My Halos are a strong third team, this division is becoming increasingly competitive. I’d go full tank. There’s no real hope for another mediocre Dallas team.
I’m sorry, but without any big ptiching additions this offseason he angels are a 4th place team, unless they get ryu, madbum, and keuchel.
An arrogant Angels fan? Remind me again, what was the Angels ERA last season? I can’t remember laughing this hard. Thanks pal.
The Angels might have a chance next year if the league adopts coach pitch.
Here’s an overview of the current projected six-man rotation for the Angels:
LHP Andrew Heaney: 95.1 IP, 4.91 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
RHP Dylan Bundy: 161.2 IP, 4.79 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 1.36 WHIP
RHP Griffin Canning: 90.1 IP, 4.58 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.22 WHIP
LHP Patrick Sandoval: 39.1 IP, 5.03 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.37 WHIP
RHP Jaime Barria: 82.2 IP, 6.42 ERA, 6.23 FIP, 1.44 WHIP
RHP Shohei Ohtani: Injured, did not pitch
Ranger faithful… question for you.
Are you guys incredibly frustrated with your Gm? Are you surprised the Rangers didn’t commit to 7 years while 4 other teams including the Angels did.
It feels like they were not even in the same market for their man.
No, because even though that is incredibly dis-heartening, JD “the gm” has made many good, savvy moves that people underrate. Minor, Lynn, Santana, Pence, Solak, and he has built our terrible farm into one that isn’t that bad, i’d say like 15th in baseball. I wish he offered the 7th year, but if in 5 years rendon is hitting .240 with 20 hr’s a year people will applaud JD for not pulling the trigger.
7 years at 210MM would’ve been my offer and I think he would’ve taken it.
ceiling is the roof
Watching how badly Pujols has fallen off the Angels should be very Leary of signing anyone to big money over 36.
That new stadium is on fire right now.
If the Rangers don’t sign Donaldson they should be on the phone with the Cubs (Bryant and Darvish) or Rockies (Arenado) or at the very minimum the Mariners (Seager) maybe they pay around 12MM and we send them Hernandez and some other 2nd tier guy or we take all the contract and they take Hernandez, Odor and Burke.
Anthony i am third generation Californian born with in twenty miles of each other. I do not own a camara. Swear. Those papa rot zees only on the West Hollywood Beverly hills side. Holds a few hundred thousand. We have at any given time tens of millions living and visiting and playing ball in the LA area. Dude? You gotta want to be pictured to be pictured. Again we don’t all own a camara. If i did you wear too much moose man. You spent a lot of time with your hair.
You are probably afraid you would like being recognized often. Fear makes a man say things about people he don’t even know.
So a 13.3% tax makes up for $53 million Heyman? Nice math.
In terms of yearly value it would have been equivalent is what he meant, after factoring in the different tax rates by state, the fact that he wouldn’t have paid it on half of his games in Texas, etc. would put the dollar per year value as roughly the same. In fact, Texas likely came out ahead in that regard, and had they gone for the 7th year with $210-$220 million I think they get him.