Texas Rangers Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward

The Rangers rose from the AL West ashes in 2015 and won their first Division Title in 4 years. It came off the heels of 2 injury riddled seasons that plagued any chance to make the playoffs. The club has about $140 MIL worth of salaries to pay in 2016 but should consider spending out another $10 – $15 MIL. They have a need for a Starting Pitcher and could use a breakout campaign from either Joey Gallo or Jurickson Profar to add depth for mid year trade to acquire a proven playoff Starter. The club will also hope Yu Darvish can come back at full strength from Tommy John Surgery. While they have 5 of the top 46 contracts of ALL – Time on their salary, 3 of them came via trade where the former team is picking up some of the dough.

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The Texas Rangers have 5 of the top 50 MLB Contracts of ALL – Time on their roster with Prince Fielder (10th), Cole Hamels (32nd), Shin-Soo Choo (37th), Josh Hamilton (42nd) and Elvis Andrus (tied for 46th).

Yes 3 of them came over via trade after chunks were already off, and their former team is still subsidizing some of the money going forward as well, but the Rangers are still already at over $120 MIL already committed in total team salary for 2016.

We have also heard grumblings that the team will look to extend Adrian Beltre this week in order to have him finish out his potential Hall Of Fame Career in Texas.  This won’t hurt the bottom line in 2016 – but will also put some dough on the future of the teams finances should it occur.

Adrian Beltre has earned every cent of his 6 years/$96 MIL deal signed before the 2011 season so far. He has 3 slashed .309/.358/.514 in his tenure and has finished in the top 15 for MVP voting in each of those campaigns. The Rangers should try to extend him for 2 or 3 more years past 2016 – and lock up the future Hall Of Famer so he can end his career in Arlington. Beltre will play next season at Age 37 – and will make $16 MIL in the final year of his pact.

Prince Fielder will have $30 MIL of his next $120 MIL paid by Detroit over the last 5 years of the deal (2016 – 2020).  Hamilton will only cost the Rangers $2 MIL per year in the next 2 seasons with the Angels eating over 90% of his contract to get rid of the former MVP last campaign.

Cole Hamels will only cost the Texas squad $14 MIL in 2016 as Philadelphia picked up $9.5 MIL of his total contract to play in Arlington after the Trade Deadline deal in 2015.  The Rangers carry the LHP the rest of the way.

Texas will need Yu Darvish to come back relatively healthy in 2016 – for him maintain being a bargain at his $23.6 MIL left or the next 2 years aggregate.

The Rangers will likely be north of $140 MIL after all of the Arbitration players are taken care of.  They should have the wherewithal to add around $10 – $15 MIL in payroll in addition to that.

Doing the Hamels deal was actually quite smart when you think about it.  He is owed only $84 MIL by Texas for the next 4 seasons if they pick up his Club Option in 2019.  Not bad for a solid #1 pitcher with a load of playoff experience.

The team will still be hard pressed to sign any premiere players long-term with the kind of dough they have committed to Fielder, Andrus and Choo beyond that.  Another reason why inking Beltre to a 2 – 3 year extension makes total sense.

Really only Mitch Moreland and Beltre are core guys that will leave this team after the 2016 season.  I believe the club may be wise to sign Moreland past 2016 as well.

For the sake of the team needs, the offense should have enough bang in 2016 to contend for the AL West again.  I believe the key will be the return of Yu Darvish.

Team officials are not looking to spend much more money in terms of any players, however they may be able to use a #5 or #6 Starter that would price out around $5 – $6 MIL.

Joey Gallo remains an interesting case too – as he has loads of talent, and should be able to find his way to the everyday lineup by next summer.  He may even start the year in a platoon with Josh Hamilton in LF.

With Hamilton spending so much time on the DL of late, it may be a quick transition into an everyday player for Gallo.  His entry-level contract status is a vital element in keeping team salary down.

Rougned Odor and Delino Deshields also fall underneath the entry-level umbrella for several years.

Of course Jurickson Profar is still just heading into his Age 23 season despite missing the last 2 campaigns due to shoulder injuries.  If he can find his feet, he may see some time as a super utility player in 2016. It wasn’t long ago that he was a top rated prospect in the MLB.

Guaranteed Contracts/POS/AGE:

Prince Fielder DH/1B (32):  Fielder makes $24 MIL from every year during 2016 – 2020, with $18 MIL being paid by Texas and $6 MIL annually coughed up by Detroit.

Cole Hamels SP (32):  Hamels costs Texas $14 MIL of his $23.5 MIL contract in 2016 (PHI pays him $9.5 MIL) before he makes $23.5 MIL in each of the 2016 and 2017 years.

There is a Club Option for 2019 at $20 MIL – or a Vesting Option automatically kicks in if he throws 400 IP between 2017 and 2018 (and 200 IP in 2018) – and he is not on the Disabled List with an elbow or shoulder injury at the end of the 2018 season.

Shin-Soo Choo OF (33): Choo makes $20 MIL for each of the next 3 years before he rakes in $21 MIL per season for both 2019 and 2020.

Adrian Beltre 3B (37):  Beltre will earn $16 MIL for 2016 and is scheduled for Free Agency in 2017.

Elvis Andrus SS (27):  Andrus reels in $15.3 MIL for each of the next 5 years, before making $14 MIL for each of the seasons 2021 and 2022.

There is a Vesting Option for 2023 – that stipulates he must receive 550 plate appearances in 2022 or 1,100 PAs in 2021-22 combined. Andrus has an opt clause after both the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Yu Darvish SP (29):  Makes $10.8 MIL in 2016 and then $11.8 MIL in 2017 before becoming a Free Agent in 2018.

Derek Holland SP (29):  The Rangers owe him $10 MIL in 2016.  After that there are 2 straight Team Options that cal for salaries of $11 MIL in 2017 – 2018, that both carry a $1.5 MIL Buyout.

Martin Perez SP (25):  Perez earns $2.9 MIL In 2016, $4.4 MIL in 2017, then he has 3 straight years of Team Options of $6 MIL, $7.5 MIL and $9.0 MIL respectively in 2018 – 2020, with Buyouts that go $2.45 MIL, 750K and 250K respectively from 2018 – 2020 as well.

Josh Hamilton OF (35):  Hamilton costs the club just $2 MIL per year for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.  He will become a Free Agent in 2018.

Chris Gimenez C (33):  The Veteran Catcher makes 975K in 2016 then has 2 years of Arbitration left on the clock before hitting the open market in 2019.

Total Money for this Category – $127.7 MIL

Arbitration Eligible/POS/AGE

1st Year

Jurickson Profar INF (23):  Profar is Arbitration Eligible from 2016 – 2019 and is a Free Agent in 2020. He is projected to earn 600K in 2016.

Jake Diekman RP (29):  The former Phillies Reliever has 2 more years left of Arbitration before he is a Free Agent in 2019.  Projected to earn $1 MIL in 2016.

Tanner Scheppers RP/SP (29): The Rangers swingman chucker is slated to earn around 800K in 2016.

Robinson Chirinos C (32):  Baseball Reference says he will make about $2.4 MIL in 2016 – and has 2 more years left of Arbitration before heading to the market prior to the 2019 season.

Shawn Tolleson RP (28):  The Reliever should make around $2.6 MIL and has 2 more years left of Arbitration before heading to the market prior to the 2019 season.

Total Money for this Category – $7.4 MIL: Total Team Salary – $135.1 MIL

2nd Year

Tom Wilhelmsen RP (32):  The new Ranger is the only 2nd year Arb player and should make $3 MIL in 2016.  He has one more year left of Eligibility before being a Free Agent in 2017.

Total Money for this Category – $3 MIL:  Total Team Salary – $138.1 MIL

3rd Year

Mitch Moreland 1B (30): Moreland could earn around $5.6 MIL in 2016 – and is a pending Free Agent for the 2017 year.

Total Money for this Category – $5.6 MIL:  Total Team Salary – $143.7 MIL

Dead Money POS/AGE:

Kyuji Fujikawa RP (35):  Is going to cost the club $2 MIL in 2016 and that will be all.

Cole Hamels SP (30):  The Phillies are kicking in $9.5 MIL in 2016 for Hamels contract.

Total Money for this Category:  ($7.5 MIL back in the pockets):  Total Team Salary – $136.2 MIL

Entry Level Contracts POS/AGE

Sam Freeman RP (29):  Freeman is Arbitration Eligible from 2017 – 2019 and is a Free Agent in 2020.

Nick Martinez SP (25):  Martinez  is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Sam Dyson RP (28): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Rougned Odor 2B (22): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Ryan Rua 1B/LF (25):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Delino Deshields Jr. CF (23):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Keone Kela RP (23):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2018 – 2020 and is a Free Agent in 2021.

Hanser Alberto INF (23):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Phil Klein RP (27):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Chi Chi Gonzalez SP (24):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Joey Gallo 3B/OF (22):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Anthony Ranaudo RP/SP (26):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Luke Jackson RP (24): Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Andrew Faulkner RP (23):  Is Arbitration Eligible from 2019 – 2021 and is a Free Agent in 2022.

Joey Gallo filled in at 3rd this year for Adrian Beltre and clubbed 7 HRs in 108 AB. He posted just over a .700 OPS. His contract being an entry level deal for a few more years will help the club keep salaries down – and he may blossom into a superstar. He is part of a young crop of players like Odor, Profar and Alberto that are all under 25 for Texas.

Total Money for this Category -$7 MIL:  Total Team Salary – $143.2 MIL

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A Big thanks goes out to our chief writer Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s feature post.

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