The 12-21 Rangers sent a few pieces out today but they couldn’t find an offer they like Lance Lynn or Joey Gallo. However, given General Manager Jon Daniels’ comments, it seems likely that they will revisit the talks about these players this off-season.
“We were open to the idea of attracting younger players who would fit in the longer term“Said Daniels, who admitted that 2022 and beyond”probably the more likely window for us”(Via Jeff Wilson of Fort Worth Star-Telegram). The challenge of competition in 2021 will appear to be compounded by impending wage cuts.
“I’m not sure what the total budget will be. It’ll be down where it was this year, but I’m not sure where exactly“Said Daniels per Wilson. As the GM pointed out, this is likely to be the case for many teams following massive loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic. It can be an impossible task to fill all the gaps for the team this off-season while managing budget cuts.
Lynn will pay $ 8 million in 2021, his final year of team control. Gallo, who will order an arbitration raise for this year’s $ 4.4 million salary, will be controlled through 2022. Texas obviously wasn’t ready to give either player away for an overwhelming return just to cut costs. Daniels’ appreciation that the team doesn’t seem a step or two away from the competitive numbers to lead to future speculation about these short-term assets.
Elsewhere on the list, Shin-Soo Choo’s The $ 21 million deal will be struck off the books at the end of the year and is likely to decline Corey Klubers $ 18MM option. The other high-priced players in Texas are tough to move, however. Elvis Andrus and Rougned smell haven’t done well recently and are eligible for high salaries ($ 14.25 million and $ 12.33 million, respectively). Likewise, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles were under-challenged in their first few seasons at Arlington.
The Rangers started this season with an expected payroll of around $ 153 million per Cot’s Contracts. You only have $ 63MM on the books for 2021 prior to arbitration, though beyond Gallo and Jose LeclercThere are no big bumps. That leaves room for some additions, but not the Texas-set expenses.
