Sources told Jeff Passan on Sunday that Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a seven-year contract.
A source said the deal is worth $175 million.
Semien gambled on himself last year, accepting a one-year offer from the Toronto Blue Jays in an attempt to rebuild his value and re-enter free agency after a disappointing season with the Oakland A's. He bet right. Semien moved to second base with Toronto and responded with one of the best power seasons from a second baseman in major league history, hitting.265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs, breaking Brian Dozier's record for home runs by a second baseman.
Semien won a Gold Glove when he moved to second base. He played every game for the second time in three seasons and led the majors with 86 extra-base hits. Semien finished second in the American League in Baseball-Reference WAR behind Shohei Ohtani and third in FanGraphs WAR behind Ohtani and Guerrero, then finished third in the Most Valuable Player award, matching his result in 2019.
Semien leads all position players in both bWAR and fWAR since 2019.
Semien brought on Scott Boras as his new agent in order to cash in on his big season. He turned 31 in September and went into free agency looking for a $200 million contract. Robinson Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2014 season, which was the last position player that age to receive that much in free agency.
Semien's approach at the plate was different in 2021 than it was in the previous season, when he hit.285/.362/.528 with 33 home runs. He became more aggressive on the pitch in the next season, especially on the pitches that produced his 45 home runs. He was more vulnerable to breaking balls as a result of that approach, as he hit.193 against the two types of balls.
In October, one evaluator told Buster Olney that he wouldn't expectSemien's power numbers to continue to increase. He's not a home run hitter. Semien's approach became more geared to power. He was able to pull the ball in the air and hit 39 of his home runs, and his fly ball rate went from 25.5% to 36.7%.
Semien was drafted by the Chicago White Sox out of the University of California, but returned to the Bay Area when he was acquired by the A's. He was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 Semien became an above-average infielder after working with A's coach Ron Washington.
Semien was better at second base than he was at the plate, which made him an attractive option for teams looking for a player at either up-the-middle position or at least a switch-hitter. He has a high reputation as a person and teammate, and one person told Olney that he would put his head on the pillow every night knowing that the money he spent to sign him was going to be worth it.
The report was contributed to by David Schoenfield.
