<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-gm-reveals-roki-sasaki-meeting');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers GM reveals Roki Sasaki offseason meeting');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-GM-reveals-Roki-Sasaki-meeting.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers GM reveals Roki Sasaki offseason meeting</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T14:44:00-08:00">December 23rd, 2:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T14:44:32-08:00">December 23rd, 2:44pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers have had a busy 24 hours, trading Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals on Sunday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-agrees-contract-joc-pederson-nathaniel-lowe-trade">signing slugger Joc Pederson</a> in the middle of the night and then <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-signs-pitcher-after-joc-pederson">adding another pitcher</a> on Monday afternoon. Though, their most intriguing move might have occurred last week. The 2023 World Series champions had a meeting with one of the most promising pitchers around– Roki Sasaki.</p><p>The Japanese right-hander is eligible to officially join an MLB franchise as soon as the 2025 international signing period begins on Jan. 15, but the Rangers can definitely make headway well before that date. While it is too early to bring out the confetti, fans should be pleased by the <a href="https://x.com/kennlandry/status/1871288894735761442" rel="noopener">organization’s remarks about the correspondence</a>.</p><p>“We really enjoyed our time, but that’s about the extent of anything I will say on that today,” general manager Chris Young said, according to MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. Texas is motivated to re-establish itself as a competitive team following a disappointing 2024 season, as demonstrated by the Nathan Eovaldi re-signing, addition of Pederson and their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-non-baseball-reason-forced-increase-max-fried-offer">unsuccessful pursuit of lefty Max Fried</a>.</p><p>Now, Young could be looking to round out the starting rotation with the electric Sasaki.</p><h2><b>Rangers would make a strong statement by signing Roki Sasaki</b></h2><p>The 23-year-old is brimming with potential, posting a 29-15 record and 2.10 ERA in four seasons with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines. He is a two-time All-Star who can dominate batters with a blazing fastball and lively splitter. The Rangers would love to balance out veteran pitchers Jacob deGrom and Eovaldi with a young talent like Roki Sasaki.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, however, several other ballclubs feel the same way. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres might all jump out as more logical landing spots for the phenom, but Texas has made itself an appealing destination. Chris Young is a successful front-office leader who will be aggressive when necessary. The idea of him closing a deal with Sasaki is definitely feasible.</p><p>Plenty of new reports will surface before a decision is made, but Arlington should take pride in knowing that the Rangers are on this star’s radar. Management is doing what it can to ensure that 2023 is not an outlier.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers GM reveals Roki Sasaki offseason meeting

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-texas-signs-pitcher-after-joc-pederson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers sign pitcher right after Joc Pederson move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-signs-pitcher-right-after-Joc-Pederson-move.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers sign pitcher right after Joc Pederson move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T13:05:47-08:00">December 23rd, 1:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T13:36:00-08:00">December 23rd, 1:36pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-agrees-contract-joc-pederson-nathaniel-lowe-trade">signing two-time All-Star Joc Pederson</a> to a two-year deal on Monday morning, the Texas Rangers made an under-the-radar move, adding relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong.</p><p>Armstrong heads to Arlington <a href="https://x.com/Evan_P_Grant/status/1871285154473464007" rel="noopener">on a Major League deal</a>, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported. The Rangers designated catcher Sam Huff for assignment as a corresponding move.</p><p>A right-handed veteran reliever, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-news-release-player-acquired-dylan-carlson-trade">Armstrong pitched for three teams</a> last year, his age 34 season. Between time with the Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, Armstrong made 57 appearances, pitching to a 4.86 ERA over 66.2 innings pitched. He also started seven games, all with the Rays.</p><p>No, it’s not the sort of big-name move that’s going to rock the baseball landscape, but it’s a low-risk, high reward one for the Rangers. Texas had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last year, ranking 26th out of 30 teams in bullpen ERA (4.41) and WHIP (1.370).</p><p>Among the culprits for the Rangers’ pen last year: 79 home runs allowed. Armstrong, despite his pedestrian numbers in 2024, allowed only six home runs in 2024, an average of 0.8 per nine innings.</p><p>Armstrong is primarily a fastball-changeup-sinker pitcher whose fastball sat around 93 mph last year — about 2 mph less than in 2022.</p><h2><b>The Rangers still have work to do on their 2025 bullpen</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kirby-Yates-Rangers.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Armstrong isn’t the only bullpen arm the Rangers have added in the last couple days. On Sunday, Texas dealt <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nationals-news-nationals-acquiring-nathaniel-lowe-trade-with-rangers">Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals for lefty Robert Garcia</a>. Like Armstrong, Garcia’s numbers didn’t look great in 2024, but in 72 appearances he ceded just four long balls (0.6 HR/9). He also struck out 75 batters over 59.2 innings. Texas also brought in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-adding-intriguing-ex-brewers-bullpen-weapon">lefty Hoby Milner</a> earlier this month.</p><p>The Rangers’ bullpen wasn’t good in 2024, but there were some good pieces that are currently sitting in free agency and could come back as well.</p><p>It starts with All-Star closer Kirby Yates. Yates had one of the best years of his career in his age 37 season, compiling a 1.17 ERA and 0.827 WHIP to go with 33 saves for a team that won only 78 games in 2024. MLB Trade Rumors projects Yates to be worth <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/2024-25-top-50-mlb-free-agents-with-predictions.html" rel="noopener">$14 million</a> in 2025, but without a clear closer candidate in the bullpen as it is, Texas just might want to spend the money.</p><p>There’s not an obvious closer candidate because veteran relief pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-david-robertson-makes-7-million-decision-rangers-contract">David Robertson is also a free agent</a>. After he struck out 99 batters over 72 innings last year with a 3.00 ERA, Robertson declined a mutual option to rejoin Texas in 2025. He would have been due $7 million, so if the Rangers are going to bring him back anyway, it will likely have to be for a number north of that.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers sign pitcher right after Joc Pederson move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-texas-agrees-contract-joc-pederson-nathaniel-lowe-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers agree to contract with Joc Pederson after Nathaniel Lowe trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-agrees-to-contract-with-Joc-Pederson-after-Nathaniel-Lowe-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers agree to contract with Joc Pederson after Nathaniel Lowe trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T05:16:56-08:00">December 23rd, 5:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T05:34:12-08:00">December 23rd, 5:34am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers had an incredibly disappointing 2024 season. They missed the playoffs after winning their first World Series due to a litany of injuries. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nationals-news-nationals-acquiring-nathaniel-lowe-trade-with-rangers">trading Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals</a>, they had a massive hole in the lineup. The Rangers signed Joc Pederson to a two-year free-agency contract after a stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1871131304974266423" rel="noopener">reported the news early Monday morning</a>.</p><p>“Free agent designated hitter Joc Pederson in agreement with Rangers, sources tell The Athletic,” Rosenthal reported.</p><p>ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Pederson’s <a href="https://x.com/Buster_ESPN/status/1871180944952242378" rel="noopener">contract at two years</a>, $37 million.</p><p>Pederson had one of the best years of his career in his one season with the Diamondbacks. His .908 OPS was the highest of his career as was his .275 batting average. The issue for the Rangers is that he did not play the field at all last year. He was an outfielder in the first decade of his career.</p><p>The Rangers do not need a first baseman, as Jake Burger was brought in and can play the position. Pederson can slot in as the designated hitter and Burger as the first baseman to fill out the lineup. But Pederson can play the outfield which may signal another trade coming.</p><h2><b>Rangers must continue to move after adding Joc Pederson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Joc-Pederson-with-AZ-Diamondbacks.jpg"><figcaption>Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>The Rangers won only 78 games last year but the American League West has gotten worse this offseason. The Astros lost Kyle Tucker and will likely lose Alex Bregman in free agency. While the Mariners had a strong start to last season, they still have massive questions. And the Angels and Athletics were not competitive last season. The Rangers can make a move back into the playoffs with an active offseason.</p><p>There are some things that they don’t even need to spend on to improve from last year. Their rotation should be healthier with Jacob deGrom coming back. Kumar Rocker should be a permanent member of the group and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-reunion-nathan-eovaldi-in-free-agency">Nathan Eovaldi is back</a>. But they can trade a franchise legend to bring in more offense.</p><p>Adolis Garcia won the ALCS MVP and will never have to buy a drink in the greater Dallas area. But he is an unrestricted free agency after 2026 and would have value in a trade. The Mariners could use a hitter like Garcia, as could the Reds and Pirates. The Rangers should target young hitters who can make an impact soon if they deal Garcia.</p><p>After a brutal 2024 season, the Rangers are moving toward a competitive 2025 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers agree to contract with Joc Pederson after Nathaniel Lowe trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nationals-news-nationals-acquiring-nathaniel-lowe-trade-with-rangers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nationals acquiring Nathaniel Lowe in trade with Rangers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nationals-news-Washington-acquiring-Nathaniel-Lowe-in-trade-with-Rangers.jpg"></figure><h1>Nationals acquiring Nathaniel Lowe in trade with Rangers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-22T14:57:29-08:00">December 22nd, 2:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-22T15:32:54-08:00">December 22nd, 3:32pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nationals-news-washington-pitching-rotation-braves-mike-soroka">Washington Nationals are making moves</a> to bolster their lineup, finalizing a trade to acquire first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers. Lowe, a 29-year-old slugger, brings a consistent offensive presence to a Nationals lineup that has struggled to produce runs. <a href="https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1870962911008399396" rel="noopener">Another first baseman is on the move</a>, as that position is a hot target this offseason.</p><p>“The Washington Nationals are finalizing a trade to acquire first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN.” via Jeff Passan on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>He’s a career <a href="https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2024/12/22/the-weekend-of-first-basemen-continues-rangers-trading-nathaniel-lowe-to-the-nationals/" rel="noopener">.272/.356/.433</a> hitter with a 122 wRC+ and has been a steady contributor for the Rangers, posting between 2.7 and 3.1 WAR in the last three seasons. In 2024, Lowe slashed .265/.361/.401 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs, numbers that instantly upgraded a Nationals lineup that ranked near the bottom of the league in multiple offensive categories, including home runs and slugging percentage. Left-handed reliever Robert Garcia is heading to Texas as part of the trade.</p><p>“Left-handed reliever Robert Garcia is headed from the Nationals to the Rangers in the Nathaniel Lowe trade, sources tell ESPN.” Passan also tweeted.</p><h2><b>The Nationals are making moves this offseason as the 1B market is on fire</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Texas-Rangers-shortstop-Corey-Seager.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Garcia, 27, is a promising pre-arbitration arm who showed potential in 2024. His inclusion in the deal gives the Rangers a young bullpen option while they shuffle their infield following this trade.</p><p>Washington’s need for offensive reinforcement was glaring last season. The team hit the fewest home runs in the National League and struggled with a .375 slugging percentage, second-worst in the league. Lowe’s proven track record as a solid hitter and his ability to reach base—highlighted by a career .356 on-base percentage—should help the Nationals address those deficiencies.</p><p>With Lowe under team control through 2026, the Nationals gain more than just short-term production. Lowe’s presence at first base solidifies a key position as the team continues its rebuild, and his offensive capabilities could complement the development of Washington’s young core. Depending on how the 2025 season unfolds, Lowe could also serve as a valuable trade asset at the deadline or next offseason if the Nationals decide to accelerate their rebuild.</p><p>For the Rangers, the decision to move Lowe appears to be financially motivated. With Lowe projected to earn over $11 million in arbitration by 2025, Texas might prefer to allocate resources elsewhere. Additionally, the acquisition of Jake Burger suggests the Rangers could explore alternative infield configurations moving forward.</p><p>This trade highlights the Nationals’ commitment to reshaping their roster and addressing weaknesses. As Lowe dons the Nationals jersey, fans will be eager to see if his addition can help reverse the team’s fortunes and pave the way for a more competitive lineup. For the Rangers, Garcia’s potential emergence as a bullpen staple could make this a win-win trade in the long term.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nationals acquiring Nathaniel Lowe in trade with Rangers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-adding-intriguing-ex-brewers-bullpen-weapon');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers adding intriguing ex-Brewers bullpen weapon');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-adding-intriguing-ex-Brewers-bullpen-weapon.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers adding intriguing ex-Brewers bullpen weapon</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T19:37:41-08:00">December 19th, 7:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T20:30:43-08:00">December 19th, 8:30pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2024 season could not have gone any worse for the Texas Rangers; their offense fell off considerably, and their pitching wasn’t able to compensate for this steep dip in hitting production. But the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-agrees-to-contract-with-ex-reds-catcher">Rangers have been working tirelessly</a> all offseason long to bolster the roster, and to that end, they signed veteran southpaw reliever Hoby Milner, a former featured bullpen weapon for the Milwaukee Brewers, in free agency.</p><p>Milner’s contract with the Rangers is <a href="https://x.com/Feinsand/status/1869928076710146534" rel="noopener">for one year</a>, as per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, although financial terms haven’t been disclosed as of yet. This will be a homecoming for the 33-year-old lefty, as he is a Dallas native who went to the University of Texas.</p><p>For the first four years of Milner’s career, he <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/rangers-to-sign-hoby-milner.html?utm_source=twitter" rel="noopener">struggled to find a home</a>, bouncing around with the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, and Los Angeles Angels. It wasn’t until 2021 that Milner latched on with the Brewers, where he has spent the past four seasons.</p><p>The Rangers are hoping to get the best out of Milner once again after he struggled through an uneven 2024 campaign in Milwaukee. This past season, his ERA ballooned to 4.73, although Texas has plenty of reasons to be optimistic regarding a potential turnaround in 2025.</p><p>His left-on-base percentage was an outlier last season (58.1 percent, down from 84.2 and 71.0 percent in 2023 and 2022, respectively), and his other peripheral stats (strikeout and walk rate) weren’t far off from their usual levels over the past few seasons with the Brewers. Thus, it is a fair expectation for Milner’s numbers to improve with the Rangers.</p><p>The Rangers haven’t made too many groundbreaking moves in this year’s free agency. Their biggest move remains the re-signing of Nathan Eovaldi to a three-year, $75 million deal, and they also added Kyle Higashioka for catcher depth. They also acquired Jake Burger via trade.</p><h2><b>Rangers hope for some major positive regression in 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Brewers-pitcher-Hoby-Milner-55-delivers-a-pitch.jpg"><figcaption>© Michael McLoone-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In addition to expecting Hoby Milner’s numbers to normalize in 2025, the Rangers are also expecting their offense to come alive next season. Adolis Garcia, in particular, is a major candidate to bounce back after enduring a nightmare 2024 season — a huge disappointment after he tore the cover off the baseball en route to winning the World Series in 2023.</p><p>Even then, Rangers president of baseball operations <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-chris-young-reveals-texas-free-agency-strategy">Chris Young knows that he cannot rest on his laurels</a> and simply wait for positive regression. Expect the Rangers to make more moves the deeper we head into free agency.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers adding intriguing ex-Brewers bullpen weapon

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-texas-agrees-to-contract-with-ex-reds-catcher');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers agree to contract with ex-Reds catcher');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-agrees-to-contract-with-ex-Reds-catcher.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers agree to contract with ex-Reds catcher</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-14T09:46:21-08:00">December 14th, 9:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-14T14:35:29-08:00">December 14th, 2:35pm</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Amid the chaos of MLB free agency, the Texas Rangers have added an ex-Cincinnati Reds catcher. The 2023 World Series Champions are coming off a trying second year under legendary manager Bruce Bochy. The franchise additionally suffered a tough blow in free agency when it missed out on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-non-baseball-reason-forced-increase-max-fried-offer">adding star pitcher Max Fried</a>. Outside of Fried, Texas has still been active during this offseason and just signed Tucker Barnhart.</p><p>An eleven-year vet, Barnhart spent eight years in Cincinnati before playing on three different teams over the next three seasons. Those organizations include the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks. According to MLB Insider for FanSided Robert Murray, the Rangers <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1867959664480252090" rel="noopener">are signing the catcher</a> to a minor-league contract. The deal includes an invite to spring training and will pay Barnhart $1 million if he plays in the majors.</p><h2><b>The Texas Rangers are looking to bounce back from a rough 2024</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cincinatti-Reds-Tucker-Barnhart.jpg"><figcaption>Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>Throughout his career, Barnhart has hit 53 home runs and 292 RBIs on a batting average of .241. He has never committed more than three errors in a full season. The Indianapolis native will look to break into a roster that has struggled at the catcher position from the plate. Rangers catcher Jonah Heim has been the predominant starter at the position over the past few years. The 29-year-old is coming off a season where he played 131 games and recorded a .221 batting average with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.</p><p>In Bruce Bochy’s first year in Arlington, Texas surprised MLB in the regular season by making it to the postseason for the first time since 2016. After getting a wild-card spot, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-world-series-run-2-year-journey-never-seen-mlb-history">Rangers shocked the world by winning the franchise’s</a> first World Series title. A year later, the organization is coming off a year in which it went 78-84 and finished third in the AL West. However, Texas still has many players from that title-winning roster, including World Series MVP Corey Seager.</p><p>Overall, 2024 will be a very telling year for the franchise’s future direction. Texas is capable of climbing back up a congested but middling AL West. The Houston Astros won the division with just an 88-73 record this past season, and that roster’s core isn’t getting any younger.</p><p>The other team in the AL West to keep an eye on is the Seattle Mariners, a franchise that has barely missed out on the playoffs over the past two years. Overall, Tucker Barnhart is not a flashy signing. However, the veteran catcher can help contribute to a franchise that should have a bounce-back season in 2024.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers agree to contract with ex-Reds catcher

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-non-baseball-reason-forced-increase-max-fried-offer');   ga('set', 'title', 'The non-baseball reason the Yankees were forced to increase Max Fried offer');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Yankees-news-The-non-baseball-reason-the-Yankees-were-forced-to-increase-Max-Fried-offer.jpg"></figure><h1>The non-baseball reason the Yankees were forced to increase Max Fried offer</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-12T06:10:18-08:00">December 12th, 6:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-12T06:10:18-08:00">December 12th, 6:10am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees signed <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-brian-cashman-4-word-juan-soto-exit-max-fried-deal">Max Fried to the biggest contract ever given to a left-handed</a> pitcher. His eight-year deal worth $218 million was the first domino in Brian Cashman’s Plan B after losing Juan Soto. It was not an easy negotiation, however, as there was a big competitor. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5988459/2024/12/11/mlb-winter-meetings-notes-garrett-crochet-trade-red-sox/" rel="noopener"> reported that the</a> Yankees gave Fried an extra year to outbid the Texas Rangers, and it has nothing to do with baseball.</p><p>Before agreeing with Eovaldi, the Rangers even made a run at free-agent left-hander Max Fried, offering him a seven-year, $190 million deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post…But the lack of state income tax in Texas increased the contract’s potential value, forcing the New York Yankees to go eight years, $218 million to land Fried.</p><p>The income tax issue has popped up in all different sports. Earlier this week, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sabres-news-kevyn-adams-drops-sobering-destination-take-amid-struggles">Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams made headlines</a> for admitting his team struggles because they are in a tax state. Juan Soto’s contract featured a $75 million signing bonus to help mitigate taxes because he is a Florida resident. The Yankees paid up to eliminate that negative.</p><p>The Yankees are still looking to make moves this offseason. Where could they go from here? And how do the Rangers bounce back from losing Max Fried?</p><h2><b>Yankees and Rangers move on from Max Fried’s decision</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Max-Fried-with-Atlanta-Braves-2.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While the Yankees should be thrilled they added the market’s best lefty, they must move forward. They have lost their starting right fielder, left fielder, first baseman, and second baseman from the World Series lineup. Offense is key and Christian Walker could be a great fit. A first baseman did not hit a home run after July 31 for the Bombers.</p><p>A pair of Astros, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, are connected to the Yankees. They both fit needs offensively and defensively and would heighten the Houston/New York rivalry. But the state income tax issue may come up here as well, with both players coming from Texas.</p><p>The Rangers were disappointing in 2024 considering their World Series title the year before. They <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-reunion-nathan-eovaldi-in-free-agency">brought back Nathan Eovaldi</a> after losing out on Fried, which helps their rotation. Max Scherzer is a free agent but rookie Kumar Rocker is expected to join the MLB club. They don’t need pitching, so the Yankees are not a trade candidate.</p><p>The Yankees and Rangers could be going after similar players, with Chicago Cubs’ outfielder Cody Bellinger at the top of the list. If one of these teams makes that trade, it could swing the power dynamic in the American League.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The non-baseball reason the Yankees were forced to increase Max Fried offer

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-texas-trade-slugger-marlins-winter-meetings');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers trade for infield slugger from Marlins during winter meetings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Texas-trades-for-infield-slugger-from-Marlins-during-winter-meetings.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers trade for infield slugger from Marlins during winter meetings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T22:10:26-08:00">December 10th, 10:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T22:10:26-08:00">December 10th, 10:10pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Marlins</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-blue-jays-giants-emerge-as-front-runners-for-corbin-burnes">arms race in Major League Baseball is heating up</a> and teams all over the league are looking to improve their rosters ahead of spring training and the 2025 season. The Texas Rangers, who won the World Series in 2023 but came crashing down to Earth with a 78-84 season in 2024, are no different.</p><p>On Tuesday night, the Rangers made a big move. They acquired big-hitting infielder Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins in <a href="https://x.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1866715450471748074" rel="noopener">exchange for a couple of prospects</a> and a pitcher, according to Alden González of ESPN.</p><p>“Source: The Marlins are getting two prospects, Echedry Vargas and Max Acosta, and a lefty starter, Brayan Mendoza, from the Rangers in exchange for 1B/3B Jake Burger,” González reported on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Burger is a big addition to the lineup for the Rangers, both literally and figuratively. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound slugger can play both first and third base and has a big bat to go along with a great name. Burger has mashed 63 home runs and racked up 156 RBIs over the last two seasons. He has huge power from the middle of the lineup and can change a game with one swing at any time.</p><p>Of course, like many big hitters do, Burger has had problems with strikeouts. He has been sat down on strikes 299 times in the last two seasons, but that is a trade off that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-chris-young-reveals-texas-free-agency-strategy">Rangers are clearly willing to take</a> as they add another dangerous power hitter to the middle of a very strong lineup.</p><p>Burger’s defense is also a slight concern, but the Rangers can also use him as a designated hitter if they find a pair of capable defenders on the corners to play over him. That would limit some of the downsides of having Burger in the lineup and allow him to just focus on what he does best: crushing baseballs.</p><p>On the Marlins side, they get a trio of minor leaguers to add to their farm system as they attempt to regroup after a disappointing season. After reaching the playoffs in 2023, they are already looking at another long-term rebuild.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers trade for infield slugger from Marlins during winter meetings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-chris-young-reveals-texas-free-agency-strategy');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chris Young reveals Rangers’ free agency strategy');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Chris-Young-reveals-Texas-free-agency-strategy.jpg"></figure><h1>Chris Young reveals Rangers’ free agency strategy</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T20:33:26-08:00">December 10th, 8:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T20:34:26-08:00">December 10th, 8:34pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2024 season could not have gone any worse for a Texas Rangers team that was defending its World Series crown. Struck by the injury bug over and over again, the Rangers fell flat last season, finishing out of the playoffs entirely with a disappointing 78-84 record. But Texas isn’t about to lick its wounds, as they are intent on returning to contending ways in 2025, as evidenced by their decision to b<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-reunion-nathan-eovaldi-in-free-agency">ring back veteran starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi</a> on a three-year, $75 million deal.</p><p>Bringing back Eovaldi, however, only seems to be step one of the Rangers’ bigger plans in free agency — with team president and general manager Chris Young revealing that he intends to <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1866529057762054360" rel="noopener">bolster the team’s pitching</a> — both the starting rotation and bullpen — even further.</p><p>“With every offseason, I feel like pitching is a priority. That’s no different this offseason. We’re focused on building out our bullpen and then we’re focused on adding to our starting pitching depth as well. There are a lot of good names out there. We’re engaged on a number of levels with both teams and free agents, doing anything we can to upgrade our pitching,” Young said in an appearance on MLB Network’s Hot Stove program.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rangers GM Chris Young speaks on looking to improve the club's pitching this offseason via trade or free agency and the development of their young players.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLBNHotStove?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLBNHotStove</a> presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/CohnReznick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CohnReznick</a> <a href="https://t.co/KSpO4uW3SL">pic.twitter.com/KSpO4uW3SL</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1866529057762054360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s not quite clear how big the wiggle room is in the Rangers’ budget this offseason, but the good news is that there are still a few quality starting pitchers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-land-ex-mets-brewers-pitcher-in-free-agency">available on the market</a>, with the best among them being Corbin Burnes. Regardless, signing Eovaldi is a good start.</p><p>“[Eovaldi] has played a big role for us over the past two years. Just a tremendous person and competitor,” Young added.</p><h2><b>Rangers’ grand offseason plans continue</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Nathan-Eovaldi-Rangers.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>While pitching continues to be valued at a premium, and rightfully so, the Rangers also want to return to their 2023 levels on the offensive side of the ball. They scored <a href="https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runs-per-game" rel="noopener">1.24 fewer runs per game</a> in 2024 (4.22) than they did in 2023 (5.46), and that simply has to change if they were to make it to the playoffs in 2025.</p><p>“We’d like to also upgrade our offense too. We feel very good about the core position player group that we have. That said, we’re open-minded in any way we can to improve our offense. Last year, we felt like we took a step back offensively from where we were in 2023. For us to be successful moving forward, we feel like we need to get back to being an elite offense so we’re focused on upgrading there too,” Young said.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chris Young reveals Rangers’ free agency strategy

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-reunion-nathan-eovaldi-in-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers agree to reunion with Nathan Eovaldi in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-agrees-to-75-million-reunion-with-Nathan-Eovaldi-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers agree to reunion with Nathan Eovaldi in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T17:04:04-08:00">December 10th, 5:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T20:44:02-08:00">December 10th, 8:44pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Veteran pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is returning to Arlington, Texas, with MLB insider Robert Murray reporting that the 34-year-old two-time All-Star has <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1866647735371247809" rel="noopener">agreed to a new deal</a> with the American League West division club.</p><p>“BREAKING: Free-agent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a contract, according to sources familiar with the deal,” Murray posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening.</p><p>In a separate report, Eovaldi’s new contract with the Rangers is reportedly <a href="https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1866648751479382205" rel="noopener">worth $75 million for a span of three years</a>, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.</p><p><i>“Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a three-year, $75 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Eovaldi, who was considered at the top of the mid-tier free agents, returns to Texas. First on the agreement was @ByRobertMurray.”</i></p><p>Eovaldi has spent his last two seasons in the big league with the Rangers. He arrived in Texas in 2022 on a two-year deal worth $ $34 million contract. He was an instant hit for the Rangers, as he became an All-Star for the second time in his career during his first year with Texas.</p><p>In the 2023 campaign, he posted a 12-5 record to go with a 3.63 ERA and a 118 ERA+. He had a dip in the 2024 season where he went 12-8 to go with a 3.80 ERA and 104 ERA+. Overall, he went 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA to go along with a 3.86 FIP, a 1.122 WHIP, and a 110 ERA+ across 54 appearances (all starts) with the Rangers.</p><p>Before agreeing to a new contract, Eovaldi, who won a World Series in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-escaping-bases-loaded-jam-game-2">another with Texas</a> in 2023, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-contract-move-free-agency">declined a $20 million player option with the Rangers for the 2025 season</a>. Going by average annual value alone, Eovaldi appears to have made just the right decision to decline his player option, as he landed a much longer and more lucrative contract. For what it’s worth, Eovaldi has a <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/market-value/_/id/8761/nathan-eovaldi" rel="noopener">calculated market value</a> of $43.592 million for two years over at Spotrac.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers agree to reunion with Nathan Eovaldi in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-land-ex-mets-brewers-pitcher-in-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers land ex-Mets, Brewers pitcher in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rangers-news-Texas-lands-ex-Mets-Brewers-pitcher-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers land ex-Mets, Brewers pitcher in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-07T10:34:17-08:00">December 7th, 10:34am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-07T10:35:20-08:00">December 7th, 10:35am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Texas Rangers owner Ray Davis has important questions to ask himself ahead of the annual winter meetings. Is he content with riding the World Series championship wave for a while longer, or is he desperate to chase another title?</p><p>No one can accuse the former energy industry CEO of being overly frugal, considering the substantial commitments he is pledging to Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, but additional investments might be needed to properly address the pitching staff. Well, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-kyle-higashioka-texas-2-year-deal">Rangers are staying under the radar</a> for now, as evidenced by <a href="https://x.com/AramLeighton8/status/1865430303235252460" rel="noopener">their latest move</a>. They have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Adrian Houser, per Aram Leighton.</p><p>The 2011 second-round draft pick made 97 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers before being traded to the New York Mets last December. His peak remains his 2021 campaign, in which he posted a 10-6 record, 3.22 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 142 1/3 innings. Houser’s rough tenure in Flushing (5.84 ERA in 23 appearances) suggests that his days as a dependable rotation guy are long over, but an opportunity could present itself in Arlington.</p><h2><b>Rangers’ rotation figures to look much different</b></h2><p>Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney are all free agents, so president of baseball operations Chris Young has potential <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-contract-move-free-agency">slots to fill</a>. Assuming Houser can gather his bearings in the minors, he may be called upon to provide depth on the MLB roster.</p><p>Erick Fedde is proof that almost any pitcher can rise from the ashes under the right circumstances. He played himself out of the big leagues, shined in South Korea and then turned himself into a coveted trade deadline commodity last season. Perhaps fellow 31-year-old Adrian Houser can enjoy a similar resurgence in 2025.</p><p>The Rangers are counting on Kumar Rocker and Cody Bradford to lead a youth movement that can tremendously revitalize a pitching staff that ranked 24th in the MLB with a 4.35 ERA. But future Hall of fame manager Bruce Bochy surely values experience as well. Houser’s pursuit of redemption may perfectly coincide with that preference.</p><p>The offseason rolls on in the Lone Star State.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers land ex-Mets, Brewers pitcher in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-kyle-higashioka-texas-2-year-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kyle Higashioka lands with Rangers on 2-year deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rangers-news-kyle-higashioka-lands-with-texas-on-2-year-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>Kyle Higashioka lands with Rangers on 2-year deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T17:49:41-08:00">December 2nd, 5:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T17:49:41-08:00">December 2nd, 5:49pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers are about to “get Higgy with it.”</p><p>Former <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/padres-news-kyle-higashioka-first-san-diego-catcher-complete-feat">San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka</a> is headed to the 2023 World Series champions, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale <a href="https://x.com/BNightengale/status/1863754119044817086" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Monday.</p><p>The deal appears to have come together quickly, as Nightengale released his report less than an hour after MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Rangers “<a href="https://x.com/jonmorosi/status/1863746228661440960" rel="noopener">have made progress</a>” toward acquiring him.</p><p>Higashioka is headed to the Rangers on a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2027, according to Nightengale. Financial terms have not yet been released.</p><p>Higashioka caught 84 games for San Diego in 2024, hitting a career-high 17 home runs in his age 34 season. That helped offset a woeful .263 on-base percentage. Before coming to the Padres in the trade that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees, Higashioka spent parts of seven seasons with New York, splitting time with Jose Trevino in 2022 and 2023.</p><p>The Higashioka news comes on the heels of a rough year for regular <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-all-star-jonah-heim-world-series">Rangers catcher Jonah Heim</a>. After hitting .258 with a .755 OPS in 2023, Heim followed that up with a .220 batting average and paltry .602 OPS this year.</p><p>“We’ve all <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/rangers/news/what-happened-to-heim-texas-rangers-catcher-s-drop-off-one-of-season-s-biggest-mysteries" rel="noopener">had down years</a>,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told the media in September. “I know we’ve had a few [players] this year that have not had their normal years, or the year that they had the previous year, and Jonah is one of them, both behind the plate and on offense.”</p><p>As a result, the Rangers were a shell of their World Champion selves as they attempted to defend their title. They finished third in the AL West with a 78-84 record.</p><h2><b>The value that Kyle Higashioka brings to the Texas Rangers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kyle-Higashioka.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Higashioka has never caught 100 games in his career and is now in his mid-30s, but that likely didn’t diminish his value much in a sparse free agent class at his position. In only 448 total at bats the last two seasons, he compiled more WAR in that timeframe than any other free agent catcher (2.9).</p><p>Statcast <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/kyle-higashioka-543309?stats=statcast-r-catching-mlb" rel="noopener">rates him</a> as an above-average pitch framer and he has a good reputation for his work with his pitching staffs. His pop time, however, has steadily increased along with his age and he rates as a below-average pitch blocker. Nevertheless, Nightengale reports that “Higashioka is loved for his defensive skills.”</p><p>His home run hitting and ability behind the plate helped him overtake Luis Campusano as the Padres’ starting catcher in 2024. Higashioka hit well in the postseason too, smacking three home runs and a double over the Padres’ seven playoff games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kyle Higashioka lands with Rangers on 2-year deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-rangers-named-intriguing-fit-diamondbacks-star');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Rangers named ‘intriguing fit’ for Diamondbacks star');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MLB-rumors-Rangers-named-intriguing-fit-for-Diamondbacks-star.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Rangers named ‘intriguing fit’ for Diamondbacks star</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T08:06:09-08:00">December 2nd, 8:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T08:06:09-08:00">December 2nd, 8:06am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Arizona Diamondbacks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks faced off in an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/world-series-news-rangers-diamondbacks-ratings-set-new-mlb-low">unpredictable 2023 World Series</a>. Just a year later, both teams missed the playoffs and are looking to retool. Arizona is looking to keep free agent Joc Pederson and the Rangers are looking to add a new hitter. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5961937/2024/12/02/mlb-free-agency-juan-soto-willy-adames-corbin-burnes/" rel="noopener">thinks the</a> 2023 champs are in a good spot to land the journeyman designated hitter.</p><p>“Several clubs looking for a left-handed hitting DH are intrigued by Joc Pederson, who in 449 plate appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season hit 23 home runs and produced a career-high .908 OPS,” Rosenthal reported.</p><p>“The Diamondbacks want Pederson back. The Tampa Bay Rays also could use him, though it’s doubtful any free agent with options will choose to play at a minor-league ballpark in the summer Florida heat. The Texas Rangers are a more intriguing fit.”</p><p>Pederson has been on five teams in his career and signed a one-year deal in Arizona last season. He performed well enough on that deal to get a long-term contract this offseason. While the Rangers had a brutal season last year, they could be a great fit for the lefty.</p><p>The Rangers are looking to cut payroll after falling victim to the Regional Sports Network drama. Getting a low-cost Pederson and trading away Adolis Garcia would help lower their payroll.</p><h2><b>If not the Rangers, where could Joc Pederson land? </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Joc-Pederson-with-Arizona-Diamondbacks.jpg"><figcaption>Stan Szeto-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Pederson could play the outfield but is primarily a designated hitter. Last season, Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski were the primary designated hitters for the Rangers. Pederson is a significant upgrade over both of those players. While he is older, he could be a great addition to a young team.</p><p>The Diamondbacks are also interested in bringing Pederson back. After losing to the Rangers in the World Series, they missed the playoffs by just one game in 2024. Bringing back Pederson would help stabilize their offense while they figure out their rotation. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ranking-jordan-montgomery-trade-destinations-rumors-swirl">Jordan Montgomery is likely to be traded</a>, so expect a free-agent move in the rotation.</p><p>Rosenthal also mentions the Tampa Bay Rays, who will be playing in the Yankees’ Spring Training facility this season. This will be an interesting test to see what players think of playing in a non-MLB facility. Walker Buehler already told the Athletics he would not be signing with them because of their stadium.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Rangers named ‘intriguing fit’ for Diamondbacks star

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/check-out-alex-rodriguez-insane-1-3-million-car-collection-with-photos');   ga('set', 'title', 'Check out Alex Rodriguez’s insane $1.3 million car collection, with photos');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Check-out-Alex-Rodriguezs-incredible-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Check out Alex Rodriguez’s insane $1.3 million car collection, with photos</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-28T10:40:01-08:00">November 28th, 10:40am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-28T10:40:01-08:00">November 28th, 10:40am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spencersee10" rel="facebook">Spencer See</a>Spencer See is a part-time writer at ClutchPoints focusing on the NBA, evergreen content and celebrity lifestyle. He is also a lifelong fan of LeBron James. In his free time, he either goes fishing or watches basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Evergreen</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Rodriguez has an insane car collection. Rodriguez is a popular retired baseball star, who starred in the MLB. He played for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and the New York Yankees. Throughout his career, Rodriguez earned a World Series championship, three AL MVP Awards, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, two Gold Glove Awards, and 14 All-Star appearances.</p><p>Given Rodriguez’s accomplishments in the MLB, have you ever wondered what kind of cars he drives? Well, wonder no more. Here is Alex Rodriguez’s incredible $1.3 million car collection, with photos.</p><p>According to Celebrity Net Worth, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alex-rodriguez-net-worth">Rodriguez has a net worth</a> of around $350 million. With a successful MLB career, it isn’t surprising to see the World Series Champion deciding to <a href="https://vipfortunes.com/car-collections/here-is-a-look-at-alex-rodriguez-s-2023-car-collection" rel="noopener">splurge on a few luxury cars</a>, as per sources.</p><h2><b>5. E46 BMW 3 Series 330Ci</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1611904296abd36d690001-Dinan-E46-330Ci-102-scaled-1.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2001_bmw_330ci_1613536075623ac5bca9fca701-Dinan-E46-330Ci-13.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2001_bmw_330ci_1613536037623ac5bca9fca701-Dinan-E46-330Ci-3.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-bmw-330ci-29/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>The cheapest car in Rodriguez’s collection is an E46 BMW 3 Series 330Ci, which is valued in the market for around $36,800. Although the E46 BMW 3 Series 330Ci is the most affordable car in Rodriguez’s garage, the E46 BMW 3 Series 330Ci offers premium comfort and an easy driving experience, as anyone can maneuver this luxury sedan with ease.</p><p>The E46 BMW 3 Series 330Ci is powered by a 3.0-liter Inline-6 engine. This allows it to produce 225 horsepower and 214 lb-ft of torque. With a six-speed manual transmission, it can attain a maximum speed of 155 mph.</p><h2><b>4. 992 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_porsche_911-carrera-gts_94D43829-441B-4C86-ACDF-D90F71EC035C-94384-scaled-1.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_porsche_911-carrera-gts_ce008621-67d0-4734-909b-51f828333b04-66938.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_porsche_911-carrera-gts_9795cb2a-caa4-4218-96bf-b34eb72a1da7-66897.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2011-porsche-911-carrera-gts-30/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>Next up on this list is Rodriguez’s 992 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet. For this elite super car, the 14-time MLB All-Star paid around $150,900.</p><p>The Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet may be familiar to some Hollywood fans, as it was the very same car the MLB star gifted to his then-wife Jennifer Lopez. After they went their separate ways, Rodriguez was able to retrieve the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet back.</p><p>The Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet derives its power from a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-6 engine. This allows it to produce 472 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque.</p><p>Equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet can reach a top speed of 193 mph. In just a little over three seconds, this super car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.</p><h2><b>3. Ferrari 599 GTB</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_ferrari_599-gto_2011_ferrari_599-gto_fe4112b0-22b2-48d3-b5dc-b77dc1b0caa2-isUgU7-43543-43544-scaled-1.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_ferrari_599-gto_2011_ferrari_599-gto_80f4b48e-bd3a-4aa1-ab07-5d0f83780c09-wcugod-43087-70870.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2011_ferrari_599-gto_2011_ferrari_599-gto_1adf6c6c-b294-4a5e-a638-b1554daacff3-fAYlMZ-43062-43064-scaled-1.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2011-ferrari-599-gto-4/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>Speaking of super cars, Rodriguez also couldn’t resist picking up a Ferrari 599 GTB. For this beast on wheels, the onetime World Series champion took out $310,543 from his pockets. The Ferrari 599 GTB is considered to be one of the most coveted cars in the market thanks to its precision, speed, and as a status symbol.</p><p>The Ferrari 599 GTB is built with a 6.0-liter V12 powertrain. This allows it to produce 611 horsepower and 448 lb-ft of torque. Furthermore, with a six-speed manual transmission, the Ferrari 599 GTB can attain a full speed of 205 mph, making it the fastest car in Rodriguez’s collection.</p><p>On the other hand, the Ferrari 599 GTB has no problems with acceleration, capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in just under four seconds.</p><h2><b>2. Rolls-Royce Ghost</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/16252098858f8021c11225693a2DSC_0544.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2019_rolls_royce_ghost_16255741395610736d884f6124DSC_0424.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1625209689ac5a8f8021c11DSC_0499-e1626194550765.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2019-rolls-royce-ghost/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>Another car that demands attention in Rodriguez’s garage is a Rolls-Royce Ghost. In fact, the three-time AL MVP shelled out $314,400 for this masterpiece. The Ghost is viewed as an icon of luxury by many. With a sleek and classy interior combined with a handful of amenities, the Ghost is truly one of the best luxurious cars in the market today.</p><p>The Ghost gets its power from a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine. This allows it to produce 563 horsepower and 605 lb-ft of torque. In addition to this, the Ghost can go as fast as 155 mph, and it has an eight-speed automatic transmission. When it comes to acceleration, this top-of-the-line sedan can move from 0 to 60 mph in just under five seconds.</p><h2><b>1. Maybach 57 S</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/0201-47803.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2008_maybach_57s_0120-43310.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2008_maybach_57s_0116-43296.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-maybach-57s/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>Retailing in the market for $455,500, the most expensive car in Rodriguez’s collection is the Maybach 57 S. The Maybach 57 S gives the 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner another option for a classy vehicle reserved for special events. This top-tier sedan oozes with elegance and class, making it a staple among big-time Hollywood celebrities.</p><p>The Maybach 57 S produces 604 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque thanks to a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine. Furthermore, it has no problems with speed, capable of peaking at 155 mph. The Maybach also just requires 4½ seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph with ease.</p><p>Nevertheless, this is all the information that we have on Alex Rodriguez’s insane $1.3 million car collection.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Check out Alex Rodriguez’s insane $1.3 million car collection, with photos

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-corey-seager-walker-buehler-world-series-heroics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Corey Seager drops truth bomb on Walker Buehler’s World Series heroics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dodgers-news-Corey-Seager-drops-truth-bomb-on-Walker-Buehlers-World-Series-heroics.jpg"></figure><h1>Corey Seager drops truth bomb on Walker Buehler’s World Series heroics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-19T11:56:39-08:00">November 19th, 11:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-19T15:35:02-08:00">November 19th, 3:35pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Dodgers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-corey-seager-joins-lebron-james-world-series-mvp">two-time World Series MVP</a>, joined Dodger Talk, hosted by David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports, to discuss his last few seasons in Arlington, reflect on his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and, of course, the Blue Crew’s most recent World Series win over the New York Yankees.</p><p>Seager also took a moment to <a href="https://x.com/AM570LASports/status/1858935528093348113" rel="noopener">talk up</a> his former teammate Walker Buehler.</p><p>“I was excited for all those guys over there. I was excited for the city, you know, not having the parade in 2020 (because of COVID). That city deserved that. So it was really to see it. It was awesome to kind of live through them. So it was a cool moment for them.</p><p>“(Walker Buehler) deserved that moment [striking out Alex Verdugo to close the World Series]. You know, that guy’s been through a lot. To come back and compete, that’s the guy you want on the mound. When we were playing together, that was the guy we always wanted on the mound.</p><p>“He’s a special person and the right guy for that spot. … He is absolutely made for October. If there’s a game you need to win, that’s the guy you want on the mound.”</p><p>The Dodgers drafted Seager with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft. He made his major-league debut in 2015 at age 21 and became a full-time player in 2016, winning NL Rookie of the Year.</p><p>The Dodgers selected Buehler with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft. After signing, he required Tommy John surgery. He debuted in the majors in 2017 and joined the rotation in 2018. He missed all of the 2023 season after requiring another Tommy John surgery and having his flexor tendon repaired in August 2022.</p><p>Buehler finally had his first start back from injury in May 2024, although it was short-lived, and he had to return to the injured list. He finished 2024 1-6 over 16 starts with a 5.38 ERA and 1.292 WHIP.</p><p>Buehler is currently a free agent and is in talks with the Dodgers about a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-dodgers-walker-buehler-in-talks-about-new-deal">potential return</a>, per New York Post’s Jon Heyman.</p><h2><b>Dodgers’ busy offseason just getting started</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dodgers-Walker-Buehler-speaking-to-fans-at-World-Series-celebration.jpg"><figcaption>© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Who are the Dodgers pursuing in free agency? The better question may be who they aren’t pursuing.</p><p>Los Angeles will be <a href="https://x.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1858680082187120860" rel="noopener">sitting down</a> with Juan Soto, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.</p><p>“Sources: The Dodgers are meeting with Juan Soto tomorrow, as @Feinsand first reported. Yes, it’d be absurd of them to follow a billion-dollar offseason with a $600M contract. But Shohei Ohtani’s first year in LA blew away all their financial projections. And they need an OF.”</p><p>The Dodgers are also rumored to be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-orioles-dodgers-stand-above-the-others-in-corbin-burnes-pursuit">connected to Corbin Burnes</a> and Max Fried and possibly trading for Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Corey Seager drops truth bomb on Walker Buehler’s World Series heroics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-rangers-nearing-deal-popular-free-agent');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers nearing deal with ‘popular’ free agent');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Texas-nearing-deal-with-popular-free-agent.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers nearing deal with ‘popular’ free agent</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-10T19:01:37-08:00">November 10th, 7:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-10T19:01:37-08:00">November 10th, 7:01pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-texas-ex-marlins-manager-coaching-staff">Texas Rangers are reportedly close to securing a deal</a> with one of the offseason’s<a href="https://x.com/jonmorosi/status/1855603685935497297" rel="noopener"> quietly popular free agents</a>. According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, Luis Curvelo, a young reliever who has spent six seasons in the minor leagues within the Seattle Mariners system, is on the verge of signing a major-league contract with the Rangers. Curvelo, who recently turned 24, found himself a free agent this offseason after the Mariners decided not to add him to their 40-man roster, leaving the door open<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-news-roki-sasaki-final-posting-decision-mlb-interest"> for other MLB teams to snap him up</a>.</p><p>“Reliever Luis Curvelo is (quietly) one of the most popular free agents at the GM Meetings. Curvelo, who just turned 24, is a minor league free agent after 6 seasons in the Mariners system. Seattle didn’t have room for him on their 40-man, but another team may. Update: Luis Curvelo is nearing a major-league contract with the Texas Rangers.”  via Morosi on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>This potential move by the Rangers signifies their intent to bolster their bullpen with young, promising talent. Curvelo’s career in the minors has been marked by gradual development and improvement, showcasing a repertoire that has caught the attention of several major-league clubs. With a fastball clocked in the mid-90s and a developing slider that has been effective against both right—and left-handed hitters, Curvelo represents a potentially valuable asset for the Rangers pitching staff.</p><h2><b>Rangers are making moves in the free-agent market early in the offseason</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Luis-Curvelo.jpg"><figcaption>Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>During his time with the Mariners’ farm system, Curvelo compiled impressive strikeout numbers, demonstrating his ability to overpower minor league-level hitters. His performance in the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=curvel000lui" rel="noopener">2024 season</a> highlighted his readiness to jump to the majors, with a notable improvement in his control and command.</p><p>The move to sign Curvelo aligns with the Rangers’ strategy of building a competitive team capable of contending soon. By investing in a young pitcher like Curvelo, who has yet to reach his peak, Texas is addressing immediate needs and looking toward sustainability and growth within its bullpen.</p><p>This signing would also provide Curvelo with the much-deserved opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage in baseball. Bringing on a player of Curvelo’s caliber for the Rangers could be a low-risk, high-reward move, especially if he can translate his minor-league success into effective outings in the major leagues.</p><p>As the deal finalizes, it will be interesting to see how Curvelo fits into the Rangers’ plans for the upcoming season and whether this opportunity will allow him to establish himself as a reliable option out of the bullpen. If successful, this signing could be remembered as a savvy move by the Rangers’ front office, capitalizing on a promising talent overlooked by others.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers nearing deal with ‘popular’ free agent

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-texas-ex-marlins-manager-coaching-staff');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers add ex-Marlins manager to coaching staff');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Texas-adds-ex-Marlins-manager-to-coaching-staff.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers add ex-Marlins manager to coaching staff</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-05T14:59:30-08:00">November 5th, 2:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-05T14:59:30-08:00">November 5th, 2:59pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Marlins</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers have added two new members to their coaching staff. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/white-sox-news-find-new-manager-after-historically-brutal-season">Will Venable left to take the Chicago White Sox</a> managerial job, they needed a new bench coach. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News <a href="https://x.com/Evan_P_Grant/status/1853922507549487450" rel="noopener">reported that</a> Luis Urueta was hired to fill the role. The former Marlins’ bench coach is joined by fellow face Skip Schumaker to work under Bruce Bochy and Chris Young.</p><p>“The Rangers have hired Skip Schumaker as a senior adviser to President of Baseball Operations Chris Young &amp; are expected to finalize a deal with Schumaker’s former bench coach with Miami Luis Urueta to join Rangers coaching staff in that role,” Grant reported.</p><p>Schumaker and Urueta were among many let go by the Marlins this offseason. While recovering from an abysmal 100-loss season, they cleaned house and let both coaches go. The Rangers saw the opportunity to add two potential replacements for Bochy, who is 69 years old. Many believed Venable was the heir apparent, and now Schumaker takes over that title.</p><p>A change in voice won’t hurt the Rangers either. A bevy of injuries blew up their chance at a World Series repeat and they missed the playoffs with 78 wins. While Bochy has earned another chance with this team, they do have to find a replacement for when he retires.</p><h2><b>Rangers set up for a successful 2025 season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Skip-Schumaker-with-Miami-Marlins.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite the poor 2024 season, the Rangers cannot be counted out for the American League playoffs in 2025. Jacob deGrom is finally healthy and should be their ace. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-kumar-rocker-gets-100-real-following-strong-mlb-debut">Kumar Rocker made waves in his first MLB starts</a> and Jack Leiter had a solid season at 25 years old. World Series MVP Corey Seager should be healthy and Marcus Semien was one of the few core players who did not get hurt.</p><p>The Rangers have two great young fielders, Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford. Jung was a part of the World Series run while Langford was a rookie in 2024. Jung only played 46 games this season and Langford had a 111 OPS+ in 134 games. The Rangers can build around these two players while spending big on their rotation.</p><p>Max Scherzer has come off the books and while the Mets were paying most of the salary, that is still a big anchor off the books. If they can spend like a big-market team, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried should be in play. These two aces are available, Texas should be on the front lines trying to get them.</p><p>Skip Schumaker and Luis Urueta will add to the 2025 Rangers while learning more about the franchise. Whether or not either one of them will be the next manager is unknown but they will make the team better now.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers add ex-Marlins manager to coaching staff

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-contract-move-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nathan Eovaldi makes big contract move ahead of free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Nathan-Eovaldi-makes-big-contract-move-ahead-of-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>Nathan Eovaldi makes big contract move ahead of free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-04T10:45:33-08:00">November 4th, 10:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-04T11:01:01-08:00">November 4th, 11:01am</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-gets-update-following-injury-scare">starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi</a> has two World Series rings to his name, and he’s on the market for any team interested in his services. Eovaldi <a href="https://x.com/kennlandry/status/1853486901409218922" rel="noopener">has declined</a> his player option with the 2023 champion Texas Rangers and will become a free agent, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.</p><p>Eovaldi hits free agency after another strong season for the Rangers. Though he couldn’t make it back-to-back All-Star nods, Eovaldi still pitched to a 3.80 ERA and struck out 166 batters in 170 innings. His walks and strikeouts per nine were both better than his career averages, with the 34-year-old issuing only 2.2 free passes per full game while fanning 8.8.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-brutally-honest-struggling-vs-yankees">injuries plagued Eovaldi</a> during the first half of his career, causing him the entire 2017 season, he has now made at least 25 starts in three of the last four years. Not coincidentally, that’s coincided with his two career All-Star appearances and a 3.76 combined ERA in that time.</p><p>Eovaldi made $16 million in the last two seasons and had a vesting option for 2025 that kicked in near the end of the year when he passed 300 combined innings from 2023 and 2024. Had he not opted out, Eovaldi would have been in line to make $20 million next year. Spotrac pegs his <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/market-value/_/id/8761/nathan-eovaldi" rel="noopener">market value</a> at $24.9 million per season over a two-year deal — a mark that seems attainable for him in free agency.</p><h2><b>Rangers remain interested in bringing back rotation anchor Nathan Eovaldi</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Nathan-Eovaldi.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Landry added in her report that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-chris-young-texas-trade-deadline-plans">Rangers general manager Chris Young</a> said the club has “a lot of interest” in bringing Eovaldi back — and why shouldn’t they?</p><p>Though 2024 did not go remotely according to plan for Texas as it looked to defend its title, Eovaldi was one of the bright spots. He anchored a Rangers rotation that struggled to find consistency. As a team, they ranked 21st out of 30 teams with a 4.35 staff ERA and 23rd as a staff with 748 strikeouts.</p><p>Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, two potential future Hall of Famers, combined to make just 12 starts this year. Scherzer missed all of April, May, and August and made only one start in September as he battled injuries in his age-38 season. DeGrom, meanwhile, spent the entire year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and returned to make three starts in September when the Rangers were already out of contention.</p><p>Andrew Heaney led the Rangers in games started with 31, but also went 5-14 while failing to give the team consistent length and effectiveness. Heaney is also a free agent, while Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle are due a combined $29.5 million next year. Mahle missed almost the entire season with an injury, and Gray led the rotation in hits allowed per nine innings with 9.4. He also had a 4.47 ERA.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nathan Eovaldi makes big contract move ahead of free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-david-robertson-makes-7-million-decision-rangers-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'David Robertson makes final $7 million decision on Rangers contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rangers-news-David-Robertson-makes-final-7-million-decision-on-Texas-contract.jpg"></figure><h1>David Robertson makes final $7 million decision on Rangers contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-02T17:16:49-07:00">November 2nd, 5:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-02T17:16:49-07:00">November 2nd, 5:16pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Veteran reliever David Robertson of the Texas Rangers has made a pivotal career decision by not exercising his $7 million mutual option for the 2025 season, thus becoming a free agent. The decision triggers a $1.5 million buyout and marks a significant transition for Robertson as he<a href="https://x.com/JeffWilsonTXR/status/1852824294620794966" rel="noopener"> explores opportunities</a> beyond the Rangers.</p><p>“From the Rangers: RHP David Robertson did not exercise the $7 million mutual option for 2025 and will become a free agent,” via Jeff Wilson on X.</p><p>In January, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-david-robertson-intriguing-contract-details-emerge">Robertson had inked a one-year contract with the Rangers</a>, which included a $10 million salary with half of that amount deferred without interest. Throughout the 2024 season, the 39-year-old right-hander showcased a solid performance, maintaining a <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42155384/reliever-david-robertson-declines-7-million-mutual-option-texas-rangers" rel="noopener">3.00 ERA over 72 innings</a> across 68 appearances. His ability to strike out 99 batters while walking only 27 highlights his ongoing proficiency and resilience as a pitcher.</p><p>Robertson’s career spans over 16 years in Major League Baseball, during which <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-rangers-interest-former-mets-phillies-closer">he has pitched for numerous high-profile teams,</a> including the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and Miami Marlins. His cumulative statistics stand impressive with a 2.91 ERA and 177 saves in his lengthy tenure in the big leagues.</p><h2><b>Daniel Robertson parts ways with the Rangers, becomes a free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/David-Robertson.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The decision to decline the mutual option could be seen as a strategic move by Robertson, considering his strong performance in the 2024 season that could potentially elevate his market value. At 39, while nearing the typical retirement age for many athletes, Robertson’s consistent output could make him a valuable asset for teams looking to bolster their bullpen with an experienced and effective closer or setup man.</p><p>This offseason will be crucial for Robertson as he navigates the free agency landscape. His vast experience, coupled with a still-effective arm, makes him an intriguing option for contending teams or any club in need of veteran leadership for their pitching staff. Teams will likely consider his age and recent performance to gauge the right contract terms that reflect his potential contribution on the field.</p><p>As Robertson evaluates his options in the free agency market, the Rangers will also be looking to address the gap left by his departure. His role as a reliable late-inning option will need to be filled, either through internal developments within the team’s existing roster or through new acquisitions during the offseason.</p><p>Robertson’s career, marked by durability and consistency, will continue to draw interest as teams gear up for the 2025 season, showcasing how seasoned players can still command significant attention and make substantial impacts in Major League Baseball. As he moves forward, his legacy as a skillful reliever and his next career steps will be closely watched by fans and analysts alike.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

David Robertson makes final $7 million decision on Rangers contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rangers-news-rangers-add-veteran-angels-reliever-off-waivers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers add veteran Angels reliever off of waivers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Texas-adds-veteran-Angels-reliever-off-of-waivers.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers add veteran Angels reliever off of waivers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-31T19:03:48-07:00">October 31st, 7:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-31T19:04:41-07:00">October 31st, 7:04pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Angels</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers have picked up right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras off outright waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, <a href="https://x.com/kileymcd/status/1852046318065070214" rel="noopener">as reported by</a> Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.</p><p>The Angels brought in Contreras, a former top pitching prospect, from the Pirates in a cash deal back in May. He will remain under team control for four additional seasons but has run out of minor league options.</p><p>Now 24 years old and turning 25 next week, Contreras was the centerpiece prospect the Pirates acquired in the trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Yankees. At that time, he ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball.</p><h2><b>Roansy Contreras’ bumpy career so far</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Roansy-Contreras-pitching-for-the-Angels.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>He demonstrated his potential during a solid 2022 season, recording 95 innings with a 3.79 ERA for the Pirates. Although his 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate were slightly below average, they were not far off.</p><p>Roansy Contreras averaged nearly 96 mph on his fastball while still just 22 years old, indicating he was on track to secure a long-term position in the Pittsburgh rotation.</p><p>The 2023 season painted a starkly different picture for Contreras. He struggled with a 5.91 ERA in his first 11 starts, experiencing a decline of 1.5 mph in his average fastball velocity. Additionally, his strikeout, walk, home run, and ground-ball rates all plummeted significantly.</p><p>A shift to the bullpen failed to yield positive results for Contreras. In his first relief outing after losing his starting role, he surrendered five runs in just one-third of an inning. Overall, he allowed 13 runs in 12 major league innings after his transition from the rotation.</p><p>Contreras’ 2024 season fell between his two previous years. He recorded a decent yet unremarkable 4.35 ERA while playing for both the Pirates and Angels. Although his strikeout and walk rates remained below average, he introduced a two-seamer to his pitch selection, which helped increase his ground-ball rate to 44.4%.</p><h2><b>Securing a roster spot with the Texas Rangers</b></h2><p>The Former Angels pitcher continued to give up too much hard contact, but he experienced a slight decrease in both average exit velocity and hard-hit rate compared to his 2023 performance, especially after the trade to Los Angeles.</p><p>Originally <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-odds-pirates-red-sox-prediction-pick-how-to-watch-4-4-2023">from the Dominican Republic, Contreras</a> primarily relied on a mid-90s four-seam fastball (used 37.6% of the time) and a mid-80s slider, which he threw 25% of the time in 2024.</p><p>While Contreras may not secure a spot on the Rangers’ 40-man roster during the offseason, players like him often change hands through waivers as teams seek to add depth to their non-roster options. If he remains with the team until next spring, he could serve as a useful option for either the back end of the rotation or the bullpen.</p><p>Injuries and inconsistent pitching depth were <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-blame-missing-2024-postseason">obstacles for the 2024 Rangers</a>, ultimately costing them a postseason berth after their 2023 World Series triumph.</p><p>Bringing in Contreras — along with likely other similar additions throughout the winter — is an early effort to strengthen the pitching depth for the 2025 season.</p><p>Contreras provides the Rangers with an affordable bullpen option, which they could use heading into the offseason. Texas stands to lose key relievers, including Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc, and José Ureña—four pitchers who logged the most bullpen innings for the team in 2024—to free agency this winter.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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