Sports

AP Source: Rangers Have Agreement With Semien On 7-Year Deal

November 28, 2021 / 9:53 PM CST / CBS Texas

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ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) -The Texas Rangers have reached an agreement on a seven-year contract with Gold Glove second baseman and potential shortstop Marcus Semien, according to a person familiar with the deal, and the team has also come to terms with right-handed starter Jon Gray and outfielder Kole Calhoun.

That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday night, when all the deals were pending physicals and not finalized. ESPN, which first reported the Semien agreement, said it was worth $175 million.

Semien was a shortstop in his six seasons with Oakland from 2015-20 before starting 147 games at second base and playing all 162 games for Toronto this year. He signed an $18 million, one-year deal with the Blue Jays in free agency last offseason.

The 31-year-old Semien hit .265 and set career highs with his 45 homers, 102 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in his only season in Toronto. The 45 homers were an MLB record for a second baseman. He finished third in the AL MVP voting, like he did in 2019 when he played all 162 games for the Athletics and hit .285 with 33 homers and 92 RBIs.

Semien could play shortstop or second base for the Rangers, depending on what other moves might be made this offseason.

Gray agreed to a four-year deal with Texas worth $56 million after spending all seven of his big league seasons with Colorado, which drafted him third overall out of Oklahoma in 2013. The 30-year-old Gray is 53-49 with a 4.59 ERA in 152 career games. In 29 starts this year, he was 8-12 with a 4.59 ERA — the same as his career mark — and had 157 strikeouts in 149 innings.

The 34-year-old Calhoun, whose one-year deal is reportedly worth $5.2 million and includes a team option for 2023, played for Arizona the past two seasons. He previously played in the AL West with the Los Angeles Angels from 2012-19.

After a 102-loss season, the Rangers had indicated they were willing to spend as needed and could be active in free agency this offseason to improve the team. They went into the offseason with only about $28 million committed to salaries for 2022.

Texas this year used a club-record 26 rookies, with at least four or five of them routinely in the lineup.

The Rangers had their fifth consecutive losing season since last winning the AL West in 2016. They finished 29th in the majors with their .232 team batting average and were shut out a majors-high 15 times while scoring an AL-low 625 runs, their fewest in a full 162-game season since 613 in 1994.

Semien has a .256 batting average with 160 homers and 482 RBIs in 1,020 career games over nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2013-14), Oakland and Toronto.

In 1,071 career games over 10 seasons, Calhoun is a .248 hitter with 161 homers and 508 RBIs.