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Daniels: Rangers Willing To Consider Long-Term Free Agent Contracts This Winter

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The Rangers will be one of the more interesting teams to follow over the next few months. Coming off two consecutive last place finishes (three in the last four years), Texas doesn’t look like an obvious spender at first glance. The Rangers’ long-term books are wide open, though, perhaps positioning them for a more exciting offseason than those of other clubs near the bottom of the standings.

Texas president of baseball operations Jon Daniels reiterated the team could be aggressive as soon as this offseason when speaking with reporters (including Jeff Wilson and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) earlier this week. “Ownership has given us a good range to work with this year with the expectation that (payroll) is going to grow over the next several years,” Daniels told reporters. “We will be in a different category than we’ve been the last couple years. The opportunity has got to line up. … We’re open to a longer-term deal on the right player.”

Those comments largely align with general manager Chris Young’s midseason proclamation that Texas would be “very active” in free agency. Like Young, Daniels didn’t delve into specifics about precisely how far the club might be willing to stretch the payroll, but the mere mention of “a longer-term deal” is notable given the Rangers’ place in the competitive cycle. Indeed, Daniels at least hinted at the possibility of playing at the top of the market, noting that while the Rangers “have kind of flipped past” the marquee names in recent offseasons, “it’s been good this year. The [scouts] have a lot of freedom to make recommendations and to really dig into players. It’s definitely been more enjoyable.”

An openness to a long-term deal doesn’t inherently mean the Rangers will sign one, of course. But that desire makes them a threat to land one of their top targets, since there does seem to be ample space on the books. Texas’ payroll maxed out north of $165MM back in 2017, in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but they’ve pared that number back under $100MM as they’ve rebuilt the roster.

Even after accounting for projected arbitration raises, the Rangers have just over $52MM on the books in 2022, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That leaves plenty of room for Daniels, Young and the rest of the front office to make a legitimate run at a priority target — particularly if ownership is willing to push spending back up above this past season’s range as Daniels suggested.

Texas probably isn’t going to add another $100MM to the books and push spending to franchise-record heights this offseason alone. The roster still has plenty of question marks, and even multiple impact additions wouldn’t make them a likely 2022 contender. Adding an external core piece or two this offseason with the anticipation of more upgrades and another payroll hike next winter seems more plausible, though, with the Rangers likely eyeing 2023 as a reasonable window of contention.

Daniels suggested this week (via Wilson) that position players will be the club’s focus. This year’s free agent class is famously shortstop-heavy, with Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Dallas-area native Trevor Story and Javier Báez all likely to land significant contracts. There’ll be some speculation about Story based on his ties to the area, but any member of that group would offer a noteworthy addition around whom Texas could build over the coming years.

Buster Olney of ESPN even hears from some rival executives that the Rangers could look into signing two members of that shortstop quintet with the idea of moving one of those players to another position. It’d be a surprise if any team — particularly one that’s not an immediate contender — ultimately landed two of Correa, Seager, Semien, Story and Báez, but that sentiment drives home the freedom the Rangers’ current level of payroll space affords the front office.

Of course, the Rangers needn’t pigeonhole themselves into the shortstop market specifically. Without established regulars virtually anywhere on the roster, Texas can identify targets around the diamond. Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Conforto are among the top non-shortstop position players slated to hit the open market.

Hyeon-jong Yang Likely Headed Back To KBO

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Former Rangers hurler Hyeon-jong Yang apparently won’t be giving MLB a second go. Yoo Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency reports that Yang is likely to return to the Korea Baseball Organization. Before signing with Texas earlier this year, Yang spent 14 seasons with the KBO’s Kia Tigers. Representatives for the team recently told reporters that Yang expressed interest in rejoining the club and that they would attempt to re-sign him.

Now 33 years old, Yang enjoyed a great deal of success with Kia, including winning the regular season and Korean Series MVP trophies in 2017. He appeared in 425 games with the Tigers, posting a 147-95 record and 3.83 ERA.

Unfortunately, those numbers didn’t translate well to the big leagues. Yang signed a minor league deal with Texas on February 12 of this year. He didn’t break camp with the Rangers, but was called up on April 26. He appeared in eight games over the next seven weeks, including four starts, but was mostly ineffective. Over 29 innings he put up a 5.59 ERA and 6.55 FIP. He was then designated for assignment, cleared waivers and assigned to the Round Rock Express, Texas’ Triple-A affiliate. He spent the rest of the season bouncing between Round Rock and Arlington, with similar results.

After being outrighted to Round Rock in mid-September, Yang elected to become a free agent on October 4, setting up a possible return to the KBO.

Rangers Poised For More Active Offseason Than Other Rebuilding Clubs

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The Rangers, up first this year in MLBTR’s annual Offseason Outlook series, will head into the offseason on the heels of a second straight last-place campaign. Texas will be hard-pressed to compete in 2022, but the front office has offered indications they’ll set out to put some pieces of the next contending Rangers’ club in place nevertheless.

Guaranteed Contracts

Other Financial Commitments

Projected Salaries for Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Rangers enter the offseason without much locked down anywhere on the roster. Texas began the transition to what they hope to be their next window of contention last offseason, parting ways with longtime roster fixtures Shin-Soo Choo, Lance Lynn, Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor. That effort continued midseason with deals shipping off Joey Gallo and Kyle Gibson. However the front office wants to define that series of moves — rebuild, retool, etc. — this is clearly a franchise amidst an overhaul to a younger, cheaper core group of players.

With that uncertainty comes opportunity. With very few positions accounted for and most of the marquee names now gone, the front office has a near blank slate to construct the roster. They’re entering the winter with less than $30MM in guaranteed commitments and one of the smaller arbitration classes leaguewide. It’d be a surprise to see the club push player payroll up to their $160MM+ franchise-record level this winter, but there’s plenty of room even before approaching the approximate $95MM mark with which the Rangers opened 2021, itself the club’s lowest figure since 2011.

Regardless of precisely where ownership sets the budget, there should be a good bit of financial flexibility for the front office. General manger Chris Young acknowledged as much this summer, telling reporters he expects “to be very active in the free agent market, targeting players who fit kind of our next few years and what we’re trying to accomplish.” That’s something of a nebulous quote by design — being very active in free agency doesn’t inherently signify the club will be playing at the top of the market — but the opportunity to add an impact player or two is there.

Signing a high-end free agent wouldn’t necessarily mean the front office believes the team ready to contend in 2022. Young’s mention of the club’s “next few years” could indicate the team is looking at 2023 and beyond as a more realistic contention window. But the front office could identify some marquee, multi-year deal targets this offseason with an eye towards locking in some certainty a year or two down the road when a return to competitiveness looks more plausible.

Ideally, that’d probably be a run at a relatively young free agent, one whom the front office could reasonably expect to continue to be highly productive in 2023 and 2024. An all-out pursuit of the market’s top players like Carlos Correa or Corey Seager would still register as a surprise, but there are plenty of productive under-30 options slated to hit free agency. There’ll inevitably be speculation about a potential run at Dallas-area native Trevor Story, but the soon to be 29-year-old makes some sense even independent of geographic connections.

Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber are also entering their age-29 campaigns, and neither player would cost draft pick compensation to sign (both were traded midseason, rendering them ineligible to receive qualifying offers). Michael Conforto likely would cost a draft choice, although it’s possible the front office takes a shot on him returning to form, particularly if his down 2021 significantly depresses his market.

None of those players would make the Rangers an immediate contender, but they all look like solid bets to offer above-average production for the next few years. There should be appeal for the front office in locking in strong play somewhere on the diamond, adding a still-young building block hopefully supplemented by steps forward from some of the club’s internal talent.

Texas can enter the offseason targeting specific players as opposed to areas of need, since so much of the current roster remains unsettled. Adolis García’s worrisome approach at the plate was exposed a bit in the second half, but he’s coming off an All-Star first half and brings an exciting combination of power and speed to the table. Given where the team is in the competitive cycle, the Rangers should continue to give him everyday run in either center or right field in hopes that increased reps against big league arms can improve his pitch recognition. Nathaniel Lowe had a nice season and is locked in at either of first base or designated hitter.

Otherwise, the position player group looks to be up in the air. Other than Lowe and Garcia, Andy Ibáñez is the only player still on the roster who hit at an average or better level last season, by measure of wRC+. Ibáñez makes plenty of contact and can bounce around the diamond, but he hadn’t appeared on Rangers’ farm system rankings at FanGraphs or Baseball America for the past three years. Giving him everyday run at second base would make sense, but he  shouldn’t necessarily stand in the way of external upgrades at any one position.

The same is more or less true of Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop. He puts the ball in play and rated very well defensively in his move from third base to short. Kiner-Falefa looks like a solid option at the bottom of a lineup, but he doesn’t hit for enough power or reach base enough to be an impact hitter. Were the Rangers to make a run at Báez or Story, they could bump Kiner-Falefa over to second or back to third (at least temporarily), where he should continue to be a plus defender.

Any move to the hot corner for Kiner-Falefa would be very brief, though, as former top ten pick and top prospect Josh Jung is on the doorstep of the majors. Jung mashed for his final couple seasons at Texas Tech, and he continued to rake this past season between Double-A and Triple-A. He only has 156 plate appearances at the minors’ top level under his belt, so it’s possible he starts next season in Triple-A. But if Jung continues to hit there as he did in 2021 (.348/.436/.652), he’ll be in the big leagues before too long.

It seems safe to assume the Rangers will have García, Lowe, Jung and Kiner-Falefa in their regular lineup relatively early into next season. That leaves catcher, a couple outfield positions, either of shortstop or second base (with Kiner-Falefa taking the other position) and designated hitter as possible areas of upgrade. Willie Calhoun looks likely to get another shot at DH, since his projected $1.6MM arbitration salary is eminently affordable. But he’s been plagued by both an unfortunate series of injuries and underperformance over the past two seasons, and manager Chris Woodward implied last month there might be some debate about whether to tender Calhoun a contract on the heels of those back-to-back disappointing years.

The Rangers aren’t likely to plug all those holes externally, and talented but unproven players like Nick Solak, DJ Peters and Leody Taveras could still get another opportunity to break through. But the broad uncertainty around the diamond highlights the freedom president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, Young, and the rest of the front office have in looking for upgrades over the coming months.

While free agency would be the most straightforward way to bolster the roster, the Texas front office could also look to the trade market for controllable targets. They’re not in position to make the best offer for a star in the Ketel Marte or Cedric Mullins mold, but they could look into some lower-tier options of interest. Ha-Seong Kim won’t have an obvious path to playing time in San Diego, for instance, and the Rangers were among the teams with interest in the 25-year-old during last offseason’s posting process.

Texas probably wouldn’t want to assume the remaining $23MM in guaranteed money on Kim’s deal after he struggled to a .202/.270/.352 line over his first 298 MLB plate appearances. But if San Diego were willing to pay down some of that money and/or include a prospect to facilitate a Kim trade — the Friars were reportedly looking to clear some payroll space to accommodate a big-ticket pickup at the deadline and might do the same this winter — then perhaps the Rangers consider buying low on a young player for whom they had some affinity not long ago. Kim’s just one speculative possibility, to be clear, but this type of general scenario is one that figures to be kicked around by the front office.

It’s a similar story on the pitching side. With Mike Foltynewicz and Jordan Lyles hitting free agency and the aforementioned Gibson trade, Dane Dunning is the only returning Rangers’ starter who topped 100 innings in 2021. Texas broke some young pitchers into the mix late in the year, but none of Spencer Howard, Glenn Otto or A.J. Alexy was especially impressive altogether. Alexy flashed the most promise when he tossed eleven innings of shutout ball over his first two starts, but he was hit hard in his next couple outings and ultimately posted matching 17.5% strikeout and walk rates.

Howard, Otto and Alexy were, to varying degrees, well-regarded as prospects. All three figure to get rotation opportunities at some point next season. But the Rangers can’t go into next year with an Opening Day rotation comprised only of Dunning, Howard, Otto, Alexy, Kolby Allard and Taylor Hearn. That’d be one of the worst starting groups in the majors on paper, and they’ll no doubt want to keep an eye on the innings tallies of their younger options.

Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray, Max Scherzer and Marcus Stroman are among the options at the top of the market, although it seems likelier Texas would look below that tier. Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Steven Matz could be counted on for more reliable mid-rotation production, but the Rangers are also in position to offer innings to rebound candidates. Last year’s flier on Foltynewicz didn’t pan out, but there’d be similar logic in scouring the lower tier of free agency and/or the non-tender market for starters coming off down years.

Taking a low-cost flier on a Dylan Bundy or Andrew Heaney type would address concerns about their other pitchers’ workloads, and it could give the Rangers a midseason trade chip if the free agent pickup turns things around. Signing a player who gets non-tendered — perhaps the Rays deem Ryan Yarbrough’s projected $4.4MM arbitration salary too expensive, to name one speculative example — could give the Rangers a much-needed controllable starting pitching option beyond next season.

It’s probably too early in the competitive cycle for the Rangers to devote much attention to upgrading their bullpen. They’ll surely be on the lookout for low-cost options in free agency or on the waiver wire, but a pursuit of Raisel Iglesias or Kendall Graveman in free agency seems unlikely. Spencer Patton, Joe Barlow, John King, Josh Sborz and Brett Martin all had nice seasons and should be in the mix for high-leverage innings next year, while José Leclerc and Jonathan Hernández should be back midseason after undergoing Tommy John surgeries this spring. The Rangers probably wouldn’t rule out trading anyone from that group, as something similar to last year’s Rafael Montero deal with the Mariners could still be in play. But Texas’ currently-healthy relievers are more solid than elite, and none would bring back a top prospect.

The Rangers have torn things down over the past calendar year, and there are no longer any obvious trade candidates in the Lynn or Gibson mold on the roster. While the front office would no doubt remain open to inquiries about some of their role players, the bigger focus now seems to be on reconstructing a contending club. It’s probably not feasible for Texas to put together a strong roster almost from scratch in the course of one offseason, but they can begin to lay that foundation by identifying and pursuing a few primary targets who could be parts of the next competitive club. This winter should kick off the next phase of the organizational restructuring — adding some external big league talent to make contention by 2023 a more realistic proposition.

Three Rangers Elect Free Agency

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Mike Foltynewicz, Hunter Wood, and outfielder Jason Martin have elected free agency, per the Rangers. The trio will now hit the open market.

Foltynewicz is the biggest name of the three, though it’s been some time since the right-hander seemingly broke out with Atlanta back in 2018. In his first and only season with the Rangers, Folty was given some leash, making 24 starts and adding four bullpen appearances for a total 139 innings. Folty pitched to a 5.44 ERA/6.02 FIP with a below-average 16.6 percent strikeout rate, though solid 6.1 percent walk rate.

Wood, formerly of the Rays and Indians, made just five appearances with the Rangers, tossing five innings and giving up a pair of earned runs. For his career, the swingman owns a 3.34 ERA/4.09 FIP across 91 2/3 innings.

Martin’s primary claim to fame comes via his inclusion in the trade that sent Gerrit Cole from the Pirates to the Astros. After appearing in the Majors with the Pirates in 2019 and 2020, he was granted free agency, signing with the Rangers. The 26-year-old saw the most playing time of his career in his lone season in Texas, slashing .208/.248/.354 across 154 plate appearances.

Rangers Claim Edwar Colina From Twins

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5:16 pm: Colina recently underwent another elbow surgery, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (including Dan Hayes of the Athletic).

3:08 pm: The Rangers announced they’ve claimed right-hander Edwar Colina off waivers from the Twins. Colina has spent the entire season on Minnesota’s injured list and will immediately land on Texas’ 60-day IL.

Colina made his first big league appearance last season. The right-hander allowed four hits and issued three walks while recording just one out in that game, but he averaged north of 97 MPH on his sinker. Entering this season, Baseball America slotted Colina as the #21 prospect in the Minnesota system, writing that his arm strength and hard-breaking slider gave him a chance to be a middle relief option in spite of below-average control.

Unfortunately, Colina missed the entire 2021 season after undergoing an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his throwing elbow in May. He did pick up a big league salary and MLB service time while on the injured list. The Rangers will take a flier to see if he can translate that big arm speed into major league success. Colina still has all three minor league option years remaining, so Texas can move him back-and-forth between Arlington and Triple-A Round Rock for the next few seasons if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Rangers Part Ways With Coaches Don Wakamatsu, Luis Ortiz

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The Rangers have made some coaching changes this afternoon, informing bench coach Don Wakamatsu and hitting coach Luis Ortiz that they will not return to the Rangers dugout in 2022. Whether assistant hitting coach Callix Crabbe and run production coordinator Alex Burg return will be left to the discretion of the incoming hitting coach, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Other title changes may be on the horizon but invites have been extended to the rest of the current coaching staff.

Wakamatsu has spent the last four seasons serving as Texas’ bench coach and nine seasons overall in a coaching capacity, a tenure that remarkably saw four different managers take the helm. Ortiz meanwhile re-joined the organization as a hitting instructor when Chris Woodward was hired to take over the reigns as manager in 2019.

Change was inevitable for a Rangers team that netted just 60 wins this season and finished with the third-worst record in the sport. While the Wakamatsu release speaks to a desire for an organizational shakeup, the Ortiz release is perhaps more driven by the team’s 84 OPS+ and low offensive ranks. In 2021, the Rangers offense ranked last in the Majors in both OBP and OPS, producing a cumulative line of .232/.294/.375. They were near the back of the pack in most other offensive categories as well. These numbers were actually buoyed by Joey Gallo’s pre-deadline peformance and will no doubt look to be improved upon by whomever the front office tabs as Ortiz’s successor.

Rangers Designate Wes Benjamin For Assignment, Activate Matt Bush

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The Rangers have activated right-hander Matt Bush from the 60-day IL, according to John Blake, the team’s executive VP of communications. Fellow righty Glenn Otto was optioned to make room on the active roster while lefty Wes Benjamin was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man.

It’s been quite a journey for Bush, who had his 2019 and 2020 seasons wiped out by Tommy John surgery. This year, he cracked the Rangers’ roster out of spring training but went on the IL April 9th with elbow inflammation and has been there ever since. Prior to that IL placement, he got into three games and logged three innings, with four strikeouts, four hits, a walk and three earned runs. He recently started a rehab assignment and made four appearances in the minors. The club has seemingly decided to reward Bush’s hard work and patience by adding him back to the big league roster on the last day of the season. The 35-year-old can be controlled for three more seasons via arbitration but seems likely to be non-tendered, considering that he’s now three years removed from a meaningful stretch of production at the big league level.

As for Benjamin, he made his Major League debut last year, logging 22 1/3 innings over eight games, including one start. He had an ERA of 4.84 with average-ish strikeout and walk rates of 21.4% and 7.1%. This year, he’s been tossed back and forth between the majors and minors, having been optioned six times. At the big league level in 2021, he got into 22 2/3 innings with an ERA of 8.74, along with a strikeout rate of 17% and walk rate of 15.2%, both of which are worse than league average. The 28-year-old lefty will now presumably go on waivers in the coming days.

Padres Hire Former Rangers' AGM Mike Daly For Front Office Position

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  • Rangers assistant general manager Mike Daly is departing the organization to join the Padres’ front office, reports Jeff Wilson. (Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported this morning that Daly and the Friars were in talks). Daly had spent fifteen years with Texas working in international scouting and player development, the last five of which had come as assistant GM. He’ll now reunite with former Rangers’ executive A.J. Preller in San Diego. Daly becomes the second Rangers’ AGM in as many months to leave the organization; Shiraz Rehman departed in August, as the front office structure in Arlington continues to evolve under president of baseball ops Jon Daniels and first-year GM Chris Young.

Rangers’ Kyle Cody Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Rangers right-hander Kyle Cody underwent a labral debridement procedure on his injured right shoulder, the club informed reporters (including Jeff Wilson). He’s expected to miss the first half of next season.

Cody missed almost all of this year due to the injury that necessitated today’s procedure. He landed on the injured list on April 25 with shoulder inflammation and was never able to make it back to the diamond. Today’s development unfortunately ensures he’ll miss a significant portion of next season as well, meaning it’ll be well over a full calendar year between Cody’s most recent and next big league outings.

The 6’7″ hurler broke into the majors last season. Over the past two years, he’s tossed 34 innings over fifteen appearances in a swing capacity. Cody owns a solid 3.71 ERA despite strikeout and walk rates that are both a bit worse than league average (21.8% and 10.2%, respectively). He flashed a promising three-pitch mix in his limited look, though, and seemed to have a good chance at cracking an uncertain Texas pitching staff next year. That’ll now be put on hold for at least a few months.

Texas will need to reinstate Cody from the 60-day injured list over the offseason. He’ll occupy a spot on the 40-man roster throughout the winter but seems likely to wind up back on the 60-day IL at the start of next season. Cody isn’t on track to reach arbitration eligibility until the 2023-24 offseason.

Carlos Gomez Officially Announces Retirement

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Former major league outfielder Carlos Gómez officially announced his retirement this afternoon in a ceremony at Milwaukee’s American Family Field (video via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The announcement finalizes the end of a 13-year major league career.

Of course, there hasn’t been much doubt that Gómez’s playing days had already concluded. The 35-year-old last played in the majors in 2019, and he hasn’t played professionally since wrapping up a stint with the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League between 2019-20. Reports out of the Dominican Republic in January 2020 indicated Gómez’s playing days were likely coming to an end, but he hadn’t publicly finalized that decision until today.

Gómez ceremoniously hung up his spikes as a Brewer, with whom he had the best run of his career. Acquired from the Twins over the 2009-10 offseason, the electric center fielder spent the next four and a half seasons with the Brew Crew. At his peak, Gómez was one of the sport’s top power-speed threats. Between 2013 and 2014, the right-handed hitter posted a .284/.347/.491 line with 47 home runs. He chipped in 74 stolen bases over those two seasons while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Gómez earned down-ballot MVP support in both of those campaigns, and few players could match his well-rounded skillset. Over that two-year stretch, Gómez ranked seventh among all position players in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement, trailing only Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, teammate Jonathan Lucroy, Buster Posey, Miguel Cabrera and Josh Donaldson.

Milwaukee traded Gómez to the Astros at the 2015 deadline for then-prospects Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, Josh Hader and Adrian Houser. It proved an opportune time for the Brewers to add an influx of young talent still helping the team immensely today, as Gómez’s productivity was never quite the same from that point forward. As he entered his 30’s, Gómez bounced around the league with a few clubs. He ended his playing days with the Mets, ironically the team that initially signed him as a 16-year-old back in 2002.

Gómez appeared in the majors with six different clubs over the course of his career, although he’ll be best known for his peak in Milwaukee. He appeared in 1461 MLB games and hit .252/.313/.411 with 145 home runs, 236 doubles and 41 triples. Gómez stole 268 bases, scored 675 runs and drove in 546. He appeared in two All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove during his aforementioned star-level peak. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued his career at around 25 WAR. MLBTR congratulates Gómez on a very fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

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