Rangers Rumors: Prince Fielder, Yu Darvish and Josh Hamilton
By Editorial Staff
The rest of the winter should prove interesting for the Texas Rangers and their fans, as the club has been tied to several of the market’s top available players. The Rangers are nearing the deadline to reach an agreement with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, and continue to be tied to free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Texas also has a superstar of its own in Justin Hamilton with an expiring contract as well as several other arbitration eligible players remaining unsigned.
After the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish last month, the chances of the club signing Prince Fielder dropped considerably. Texas has maintained that they are unlikely to sign both Fielder and Darvish, but the Rangers nonetheless continue to be tied to Prince.
While it’s unknown if the Rangers can afford both Darvish and Fielder, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com is reporting that Texas would love to sign Prince. Heyman notes that the Rangers would become the favorite to do so if their deal with Darvish falls through.
Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports is reporting that extension talks between the Rangers and 2010 American League MVP Josh Hamilton are on hold for the moment. Hamilton’s set to hit free agency following the 2012 season if he and the Rangers are unable to work out a new contract.
Other than Hamilton, the Rangers have three other contracts they will have to focus on in the coming days. Texas has yet to reach an agreement with arbitration eligible’s Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus.
For more on the Rangers, be sure to check out Nolan Writin’.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.