Isiah Kiner-Falefa was the Texas Rangers shortstop in 2021. He did a serviceable job, but he did not guarantee himself the job in 2022. Meanwhile, there are several big named infielders out there for the signing in free agency. Again, I have doubts about the Rangers ponying up this off-season. I have been burned too many times to believe. Chris Halicke of Inside the Rangers is all on on Carlos Correa, but I don’t think that will happen.
I believe that Kiner-Falefa will be the everyday second baseman moving forward. His third position in three seasons. Lets look at the top free agents and what it will take to sign them.
Carlos Correa – Correa is going to get a huge payday. He also wants a lot of years. He is most likely going to demand north of $300mm and seven years. Someone will pay him that. It will not be Texas. While he is a great shortstop, He is not the best ever and he will be overpaid. I don’t want the Rangers to overpay a shortstop and not get pitching. Offense was not great in 2021 either, but even with Correa, they will not be breaking any records in 2022. Think Alex Rodriguez signing.
Trevor Story – Story made $17,500,000 in 2021. He is not going to take a pay cut to come to Texas, even though he is from the area. Story will probably fetch around $26mm – $28mm a season for five, maybe six seasons. He is almost 29 years old, and I would guess he is in the middle of his best days, probably on the back side. It would probably take less than $200mm to sign Story. The Rangers may make a push early to try and ink the shortstop, but I think he is going to want to field as many offers as he can. This one is a 50-50 for me.
Marcus Semien – Marcus is 31 years old. He would not demand as much salary or as many years as the first two mentioned. His market value is predicted around $20mm a year. While he has been good at his position over the years, he is not the offensive juggernaut that the Rangers are hoping to sign. His biggest home run season was 2021 with 45 long balls. His career batting average is .256. Not bad. His fielding percentage for his career is .969, which is not great but not terrible (Correa is .981 and Story is .979). Semien is another option for the Rangers to consider.
Javier Baez – Javier is going to get around $25mm per season. Are the Rangers willing to do that for him? Will he be a third or fourth option if all else fails? I am not sure, but he is another name to watch.
My opinion, I think the Rangers will wind up overspending on one of the guys above in 2022. They will wrap him up for too many years and he will not be productive his entire tenure with the team. Which one, you ask? I am really not sure at this point. Talk to me in a few weeks and I will have a better opinion!
