The MLB offseason is upon us.
Free agency officially opens five days after the conclusion of the World Series, and the Texas Rangers might have an extensive shopping list.
A bat? An arm? The Rangers could use at least a couple of both after finishing 78-84 in their World Series defense campaign.
With baseball abuzz with free agency rumors, ESPN recently released a list of potential fits for MLB’s top free agents — the ones not named Juan Soto, at least.
ESPN names veteran left-hander and former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried as a potential fit for the Rangers to sign this offseason.
Fried is a 31-year-old starter with a career 3.07 ERA in eight seasons as a major leaguer. He’s pitched at the top of the Braves rotation for years, appeared in two All-Star games and finished top-5 in Cy Young voting twice.
Here’s what ESPN said about his fit with Texas: “The Rangers might not be the obvious destination, but Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney are free agents (assuming Eovaldi opts out of his $20 million option). Jon Gray is under contract for one more year and Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle are health risks. Prospects Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are possible rotation options but given the age of some of the key offensive players — Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia — the Rangers should be all-in to win now before their stars get older.”
Aside from triggering DFW sports fans with usage of the phrase “all-in,” there could be a problem with ESPN’s projection.
There’s no question Fried would be a boon for the Rangers rotation. There’s plenty of question about the price tag, though.
Fried is one of the top free agents of the winter, the No. 4 player on the market according to Keith Law’s annual top 50 list. Early projections have his contract landing somewhere around the $150-180 million range.
For a team with an extremely uncertain financial situation that is believed to be cutting payroll heading into the 2025 season, that contract may be a little rich for the Rangers at the moment.
ESPN also lists the Boston Red Sox and the seemingly endless pockets of the world-champion LA Dodgers as possible Fried suitors.
So the ace lefty would be a huge get for the Rangers this winter if they can pull it off, but it’d be a surprising one, as well.
Twitter: @dmn_rangers
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