Report: Rangers To Sign Corey Seager To Franchise-Record Contract

The Texas Rangers have stolen the show in the offseason, luring two of the big five free-agent shortstops to Arlington.

The Texas Rangers have made yet another big splash in free agency, signing Corey Seager to a 10-year, $325 million contract, per multiple reports. This adds to the $236 million committed to Marcus Semien, Jon Gray and Kole Calhoun, who all reached agreements on Sunday.

All agreements are pending physicals.

Seager's mega-deal does not include any opt-outs, and has a limited no-trade clause, according to The Dallas Morning News. It is also the largest contract in franchise history, surpassing the 10-year, $252 million contract issued to Álex Rodríguez in 2000. The $561 million committed by the Rangers is the most a club has spent in one offseason in baseball history.

Seager, 27, has been a target of the Rangers from the beginning, stemming back to his ties to manager Chris Woodward, who coached him in Los Angeles for three years. Sentimental ties aside, Seager automatically upgrades the Texas lineup, which is something president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and general manager Chris Young set out to do this winter. The Rangers ranked near the bottom of Major League Baseball in nearly every major offensive category in 2021. Now, with the addition of both Seager and Semien, the Rangers have arguably the best middle-of-the-infield duo in the game. In turn, it also accelerates their rebuild with two legitimate stars who can lead a young team on and off the field.

Even with this signing, the Rangers surprisingly aren't sniffing the luxury tax threshold. Counting guaranteed contracts, retained salaries and money set aside for their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players, the Rangers roughly have a $125-130 million payroll for next season. In October, Daniels said the club's 2022 budget would be "consistent with the market and fan base of this size". Dallas-Fort Worth is a top-five sports market.

The Rangers could still feasibly add another starting pitcher or another outfielder. Texas is still known to be interested in Clayton Kershaw if he opts to not reunite with the Dodgers.

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