Five Rangers Hit Free Agency As Offseason Begins

With the conclusion of the World Series, 131 MLB players hit free agency as of Sunday, including five Texas Rangers.

The Texas Rangers now have five official free agents, according to the Major League Baseball Players Association, which released the unrestricted list on Sunday.

By collective bargaining language, the 131 players listed are considered XX(B) free agents. But in terms casual fans can understand, they are unrestricted free agents.

The list of Rangers included is no big surprise — pitchers Martín Pérez, Matt Moore and Kohei Arihara, along with infielder Charlie Culberson and catcher Kevin Plawecki.

Other players could hit free agency, depending upon moves made later either by the team or player.

Pérez is the most notable of the five, and both the pitcher and the Rangers have made it clear they want to get a deal done for 2023 and beyond.

Pérez, who broke in with Texas in 2012 and played for them for his first eight seasons, returned on a one-year, $4 million deal in 2022 and ended up becoming the Rangers ace. He went 12-8 with a 2.89 ERA, the latter among the best in the American League. He threw 196 1/3 innings, just two off his career high. He did have a career-high 169 strikeouts. He also was also an All-Star for the first time.

Moore became one of the Rangers’ go-to relievers and had one of his best season since his early-career heyday with the Tampa Bay Rays. Moore was 5-2 with a 1.95 ERA in 63 relief appearances. He recorded the first five saves of his career and had 14 holds. Opposing hitters batted .187.

Arihara pitched 15 games for the Rangers in 2021-22, going 3-7 with a 7.57 ERA. The Rangers originally acquired him on Dec. 26, 2020, when they signed him to a two-year deal from the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League.

Culberson batted .252/.283/.357/.640 in 70 games, scoring 19 runs with six doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI. He played six different positions in the field for the Rangers (pitcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and left field). But with the Rangers looking to promote more players from their top-tier farm system, he may find a better situation elsewhere.

The Rangers added Plawecki off waivers on Sept. 21 from the Boston Red Sox. He batted .220/.286/.286/.572 in 64 games, scoring 15 runs with eight doubles, one home run, 13 RBI and 14 walks.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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