Ian Kinsler has agreed to a five-year, $22 million extension with a club option for a sixth year. Pitcher John Rheinecker will have surgery on his shoulder and is out until the All-Star break. Just another day in the desert
This makes my day!! (Not the Rheinecker part, obviously. That's a shame for him, and I hope the surgery helps him.) I was really hoping they could get this done before spring training ended, and they exceeded my expectations by getting it done before spring training begins (for position players anyway). Good Rangers news day!
Cool. When you asked us a while back what should be done with the A-rod money I said I wanted it to go toward extensions for Benoit and Kinsler. Check and check. This locks up Ian for what should be his prime years of production.
I hate that for Rheinecker. He couldn've been an effective situational lefty facing Ichiro, Garret Anderson or Eric Chavez in key situations in the 6th or 7th, but hopefully he'll be back by the break.
Good for Kinsler. This deal is going to look like a bargain when he hits .300 and drives in almost 100 for the next few years.
Too bad for Rheinecker, but I guess that is why there are so many pitchers in camp, you never know.
This Kinsler deal is huge. It locks up Ian throughout all of his prime years, and when he turns into the all-star I think he will be, $22 million is going to look like a heckuva deal. I was afraid this wasn't going to get done, but I'm pleasantly suprised - it's nice to see the organization finishing something they've started for a change. I wonder if Nolan had anything to do with this?
As for Rheinecker, thats too bad, but I think it might be a blessing in disguise. It means we don't have to worry about finding a spot for him on the roster right now, and allows us to evaluate other pitchers in the 'pen, like Robinson Tejeda or Josh Rupe, while still hanging onto Rhino. This way he should be out until we can trade Guardado, and that spot for the LOOGY in the bullpen opens back up.
This is WAY good news for the team and for fans. I wrote a long, rambling post (I know, what's new) a couple of months ago about how I thought the Kinsler negotiations were going to be a huge indicator of the franchise's direction. This commitment to youth by the team cannot be viewed as anything but a good sign for the future.
Excellent comment, lonestar, regarding Rheinecker - it does free up a spot. I am a little concerned about this starting 'the trend', though.
I talked to another baseball guy earlier this week while I was out of town regarding the team's direction. He has convinced me (along with hefe and others here), that my confusion about the team's direction has been in large part due to my inability to discern between what the team has voiced as a long term plan, and what I'll call 'company speak' - the need to optimistically sell what the team has to put on the field today (even if it contradicts the long term plan in some ways). That is what has been most difficult for me - the apparent contradictions.
This is also why I have had a difficult time supporting RW - because he has to sell today's team. And selling the 'now' is not what is in the best interest of the team, nor is it what I want to hear. Just letting you all know I will hopefully do a better job of balancing what I hear from the team regarding long term (which I think has great promise), and what I hear about this year's team (which has little promise IMO, at least at the big league level) which I will largely dismiss.
This makes my day!! (Not the Rheinecker part, obviously. That's a shame for him, and I hope the surgery helps him.) I was really hoping they could get this done before spring training ended, and they exceeded my expectations by getting it done before spring training begins (for position players anyway). Good Rangers news day!
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Cool. When you asked us a while back what should be done with the A-rod money I said I wanted it to go toward extensions for Benoit and Kinsler. Check and check. This locks up Ian for what should be his prime years of production.
I hate that for Rheinecker. He couldn've been an effective situational lefty facing Ichiro, Garret Anderson or Eric Chavez in key situations in the 6th or 7th, but hopefully he'll be back by the break.
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Good for Kinsler. This deal is going to look like a bargain when he hits .300 and drives in almost 100 for the next few years.
Too bad for Rheinecker, but I guess that is why there are so many pitchers in camp, you never know.
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This Kinsler deal is huge. It locks up Ian throughout all of his prime years, and when he turns into the all-star I think he will be, $22 million is going to look like a heckuva deal. I was afraid this wasn't going to get done, but I'm pleasantly suprised - it's nice to see the organization finishing something they've started for a change. I wonder if Nolan had anything to do with this?
As for Rheinecker, thats too bad, but I think it might be a blessing in disguise. It means we don't have to worry about finding a spot for him on the roster right now, and allows us to evaluate other pitchers in the 'pen, like Robinson Tejeda or Josh Rupe, while still hanging onto Rhino. This way he should be out until we can trade Guardado, and that spot for the LOOGY in the bullpen opens back up.
Report any abuse or spam
This is WAY good news for the team and for fans. I wrote a long, rambling post (I know, what's new) a couple of months ago about how I thought the Kinsler negotiations were going to be a huge indicator of the franchise's direction. This commitment to youth by the team cannot be viewed as anything but a good sign for the future.
Excellent comment, lonestar, regarding Rheinecker - it does free up a spot. I am a little concerned about this starting 'the trend', though.
I talked to another baseball guy earlier this week while I was out of town regarding the team's direction. He has convinced me (along with hefe and others here), that my confusion about the team's direction has been in large part due to my inability to discern between what the team has voiced as a long term plan, and what I'll call 'company speak' - the need to optimistically sell what the team has to put on the field today (even if it contradicts the long term plan in some ways). That is what has been most difficult for me - the apparent contradictions.
This is also why I have had a difficult time supporting RW - because he has to sell today's team. And selling the 'now' is not what is in the best interest of the team, nor is it what I want to hear. Just letting you all know I will hopefully do a better job of balancing what I hear from the team regarding long term (which I think has great promise), and what I hear about this year's team (which has little promise IMO, at least at the big league level) which I will largely dismiss.
Report any abuse or spam