Midfielder Marcus Semien and Texas Rangers Sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday.
One source said the deal was worth $175 million.
However, the Rangers failed to perform there. They are also finalizing a four-year, $56 million contract with the right-hander Jon Gray, sources familiar with the deal told Passan is pending.
Gray, 30 years old, who has dedicated his entire career to Colorado Rockies. 38%.
Semien too, struggled in the shortened 2020 season with Oakland Athletics, and he bet on last season, accepting a year offer from Toronto Blue Jays in an attempt to rebuild his worth and return to free agency. He bet is right. Semien moved into second base with Toronto and responded with one of the best power seasons from a second player in major league history, hitting .265 / .334 / .538 with 45 runs at home, breaking Brian Dozier’s record for home runs by a second player. .
The move to the second base was also smooth, Semien won the Golden Glove. He’s played every game for the second time in three seasons (and missed just 10 of the past four) and leads the pro league with 86 base hits. While he was playing in the ball of his teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr. During the season, Semien finished second in the American League in Baseball-Refer to the following WAR Shohei Ohtani and third in the FanGraphs WAR behind Ohtani and Guerrero, then third in the MVP race, matching his results in 2019 and becoming the only player to have two MVP finishes in the past three seasons .
Even in 2020, when it hit 0.223, Semien leads all positional players in both bWAR and fWAR since 2019.
To cash in on his big season, Semien brought in Scott Boras as his new agent. He is entering the 31-year-old season after turning 31 in September and is believed to have moved in as a free agent in search of a $200 million deal. The last-place player of that age (or older) getting as much in the free company is Robinson Cano, who signed a 10-year $240 million deal with Seattle Mariners before the 2014 season.
Semien’s approach in 2021 is slightly different than during his breakout season in 2019, when he hit .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs. He walks more that season, but becomes more aggressive in 2021, especially on fast balls as 36 of his 45 home runs have been fast balls. That approach makes him more prone to breakage, as he hit 0.193 on the curve ball and the slider compared to 0.246 in 2019.
One reviewer told ESPN’s Buster Olney in October that “I know [Semien’s] electricity skyrocketed [in 2021], but I don’t expect that to continue. He’s not really a home scorer. “Perhaps, but Semien’s approach has become more power-driven. He’s become more adept at pulling the ball in the air – he’s made 39 passes home, many of them. was instant – – and increased his tackle rate from 25.5% in 2019 to 36.7%.
Originally Posted by Chicago White Sox out of the University of California, Semien returned to the Bay Area when A bought him in 2015. He was notoriously tough defensively early that season on the short track, committing 24 fouls at the end of June (he finished). ended the season with 35 fouls, the most in a season since 2000). However, while working with A’s coach Ron Washington, Semien became an above average striker, finishing with more than 17 defensive runs combined during the 2016-19 season.
He is even better at second, making Semien attractive to teams looking for a player at centre-back, although Semien has stated his preference is to return to the reserve position. bag. He’s also well known as a man and teammate, prompting an insider to tell Olney, “I’ll lay my head on my pillow every night knowing that the money I spent to sign him is worthy.”
ESPN’s David Schoenfield contributed to this report.
