Rangers Notes: Halos Lure Hamilton with Five-Year Deal

Josh Hamilton is introduced to the Southern California media at a press conference on Saturday.

Just days after watching the club’s all-time hits leader — Michael Young — traded to Philadelphia, the Rangers learned Thursday that free-agent outfielder Josh Hamilton had signed a five-year contract with the rival Angels that will pay him a reported $125 million.

Los Angeles had not been publicly considered to be a major player in the Hamilton sweepstakes this offseason, with Seattle and, later, Philadelphia joining Texas as the presumed front-runners to land the perennial All-Star.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Hamilton had told the Rangers “he will come back to them to discuss a final offer before leaving for any team,” but that may not have been the case as Texas didn’t learn of the signing until general manager Jon Daniels got a call from the slugger’s agent Thursday afternoon.

“Our full expectation was that the phone call was going to be before he signed, certainly not after,” Daniels said. “It’s business, and everybody has to make their own calls and he has a family to look out for … I’m a little disappointed in how it was handled, but he had a decision to make and he made it.”

Hamilton, along with his wife Katie, let it be known that they wanted to see more of an effort from the Rangers’ front office to re-sign him, but Texas seemed unwilling to offer any guaranteed contract beyond four years.

“[The Angels] like to get after it. They like to get things done,” Hamilton said at an introductory press conference Saturday in Los Angeles. “I was excited to see they were excited, to see a team and see people really pursue and want you as part of their organization.”

“It’s one of those things where I’m not going to get offers from this team and say this team offered this and bid everybody against each other,” he continued. “We don’t work that way. Offer what you want to offer. That’s fine. That’s the way that worked.”

An All-Star in each of his five seasons with Texas, Hamilton was a three-time Silver Slugger award winner and was named the 2010 A.L. Most Valuable Player after batting a league-best .359 with 32 home runs, 40 doubles and 100 RBIs.

Last May, he tied a major-league record by hitting four home runs in one game against the Orioles, also adding a double to establish a new single-game high with 18 total bases.

By late summer, however, Hamilton’s average had dropped well below .300, and he slumped through September while the Rangers fell one game short of their third straight American League West division crown.

In his final game with Texas, a 5-1 Wild Card loss to Baltimore on Oct. 5, Hamilton went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and two groundouts, although his first-inning double play grounder scored Ian Kinsler for the Rangers’ lone run.

Adams to Philadelphia, Dempster to Boston

Right-handed setup man Mike Adams — who is recovering from an October surgery to repair his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome — was signed by the Phillies to a two-year contract worth $12 million last week.

The 34-year-old Adams appeared in 88 games out of the Texas bullpen across parts of two seasons in Arlington, posting an earned run average of 2.88 and racking up 70 strikeouts over 78 innings pitched.

Veteran starter Ryan Dempster, acquired by the Rangers at last season’s trade deadline, inked a two-year, $26.5 million deal with the Red Sox on Thursday, where he hopes for better numbers than the 5.09 ERA he fashioned in Texas.

Trades Leave Dickey, Upton Unavailable

The Rangers saw a pair of potential trade targets taken off the market over the past week, as right-hander R.A. Dickey was sent from the Mets to Toronto while Arizona filled its need for a young shortstop without having to part ways with outfielder Justin Upton.

The Diamondbacks acquired 22-year-old prospect Didi Gregorius from Cleveland in a three-way deal last Tuesday that also sent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati and former first-round pick Drew Stubbs to the Indians.

With the acquisition of Gregorius, Arizona general manager Kevin Towers said it was “highly unlikely” the Diamondbacks would look to trade Upton. “At this point, I don’t think that is going to happen.”

As for Dickey, the knuckleballer was dealt from New York to the Blue Jays in a seven-player trade that was finalized on Monday, sending catchers John Buck and Travis d’Arnaud and two others to Toronto.

Rangers Notes: Feliz Named A.L. Rookie of the Year

After moving into the closer’s role in mid-April, Neftali Feliz set a rookie record with 40 saves while posting an ERA of 2.73 in 70 appearances.

Rangers closer Neftali Feliz was named the 2010 American League Rookie of the Year on Monday by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Feliz received 20 out of 28 first-place votes and finished 24 points ahead of runner-up Austin Jackson of the Tigers in the balloting. The 22-year-old right-hander established a new big-league record for saves by a rookie (40) and at one point in the season converted 20 consecutive save opportunities.

After a brief call-up to the majors in 2009, Feliz auditioned for a spot in the starting rotation this spring but instead made the Opening Day roster as a late-inning reliever. He inherited the closer’s role when right-hander Frank Francisco was ousted in mid-April, and in 70 appearances he struck out 71 batters against just 18 walks with a 2.73 earned run average.

Feliz, who came to Texas from Atlanta as part of the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007, is the second player in franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year award, following first baseman Mike Hargrove in 1974.

Buck Signs with Marlins

The first big name among free-agent catchers to sign with a new team this offseason is former Blue Jays and Royals backstop John Buck, who agreed to a three-year, $18 million contract with the Florida Marlins on Wednesday. At age 29, Buck put up career-best numbers this season with Toronto, including 20 home runs, 25 doubles, 66 RBIs and a .281 batting average.

The Rangers were said to be interested in Buck last year before he signed with the Blue Jays, and with the team looking to add a reliable starting catcher this offseason, his was certainly a name to be considered.

Now that Buck is off the market, Texas may try to step up its effort to sign free-agent catcher Victor Martinez, though he is also being courted by a number of teams.

German Agrees to Minor-League Deal

Less than two weeks after he cleared waivers and opted for free agency, utility infielder Esteban German has been signed by the Rangers to a minor-league deal for next season, according to Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com.

German is batting .318 (20-for-63) across parts of three seasons at the big-league level with Texas, and this year he led Triple-A Oklahoma City with 136 hits, 79 runs scored and 50 stolen bases.

Rangers Notes: Team Weighs Free-Agent Options

Third baseman Adrian Beltre (left) and catcher Victor Martinez could both be attractive free-agent options for the Rangers this offseason.

Baseball’s free-agent shopping season officially began on Sunday, and the Rangers may look to add upgrades at several positions, in addition to trying to re-sign ace left-hander Cliff Lee.

The area which is in need of the most improvement seems to be catcher, where youngsters Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez were either injured or failed to produce at the big-league level this year, giving way to veterans Matt Treanor and Bengie Molina before the season’s halfway point. The team would clearly like to have a consistent No. 1 catcher for an entire season, and the free-agent market provides options in the form of John Buck, Victor Martinez, A.J. Pierzynski and Yorvit Torrealba, to name a few.

General manager Jon Daniels tried to add a right-handed-hitting first baseman before this year’s trade deadline but could only muster Jorge Cantu, who batted .235 with just two runs batted in and 19 strikeouts in 30 regular-season games with Texas. While Mitch Moreland performed well after his mid-season call-up (nine home runs and 25 RBIs, including a team-high .462 batting average in the World Series), the Rangers are still seeking a right-handed bat to complement him at first. Choices among this year’s group of free agents include Paul Konerko, Troy Glaus, Derrek Lee and Ty Wigginton.

Across the infield, Michael Young is closer to a defensive liability than an asset at third base, and a move to designated hitter may not be too far off. Among free-agent third basemen this offseason, the bar is set high with Adrian Beltre – who hit .321 with 28 home runs and 102 RBIs for the Red Sox this year – but then falls off drastically with the likes of Pedro Feliz, Akinori Iwamura and Nick Punto.

Whether or not Cliff Lee decides to re-sign with Texas, the team will likely try to add depth to its starting pitching rotation, where the only guaranteed spots for next season appear to belong to left-hander C.J. Wilson and right-hander Colby Lewis. Topping this year’s list of free-agent starters are right-handers Jon Garland, Brandon Webb and Chris Young and left-handers Erik Bedard, Jorge De La Rosa and Jeff Francis.

In other news, the Rangers announced Friday that they had outrighted three players off of the 40-man roster – infielder Esteban German and right-handers Doug Mathis and Brandon McCarthy – making them all free agents. The moves brought the number of players currently on the team’s 40-man roster to 31, not including three right-handed pitchers still on the 60-day disabled list: Omar Beltre, Eric Hurley and Guillermo Moscoso.

Rangers Notes: Harden Replaces Millwood In Rotation

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels (left) and team president Nolan Ryan (right) introduce right-hander Rich Harden to the Texas media.

The Texas front office was busy at last week’s winter meetings in Indianapolis, as the team traded right-hander Kevin Millwood to the Orioles in exchange for reliever Chris Ray.

The next day, the Rangers penned righty Rich Harden to a one-year deal (plus incentives) as Millwood’s replacement in the rotation. Barring a major setback to the oft-injured Harden, he should begin spring training as the Rangers’ No. 1 starter.

As the winter meetings drew to a close, talks appeared to be heating up between the Rangers and Red Sox about a trade that would send catcher/first baseman Max Ramirez to Boston and third baseman Mike Lowell to Arlington. The only holdup now – and it is a pretty significant holdup – is the review of Lowell’s medical records and history, which has most recently cost him playing time due to a right thumb injury.

Texas did make two minor transactions before the winter meetings began, claiming utility player Joe Inglett off waivers from the Blue Jays and acquiring left-hander Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to be named later. Both are now on the Rangers’ 40-man roster.

As for former Rangers, some have signed on with new teams while some remain on the free agent market. Veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel, who proved to be a valuable substitute for injured infielders (not to mention a heck of a mentor for Elvis Andrus), signed a one-year contract with the White Sox. Part-time outfielder Andruw Jones followed suit, agreeing to a deal with Chicago two days later.

Right-handed reliever Jason Grilli signed a minor-league contract with the Cleveland Indians, though his hush-hush Tweets prior to announcing the deal drew more attention than the contract itself.

Future Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, now twice a former Ranger, surprised many people when he signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Washington Nationals. I was one who thought Pudge would surely retire in a Texas uniform after we acquired him from the Houston Astros in August, but I suppose money talks.

The Rangers are still seeking a backup catcher this offseason. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is being monitored after numbness and tingling returned to his right arm while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic earlier this month. Saltalamacchia experienced the same symptoms during the season before having surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome on Sept. 21.

One of the team’s options at backstop, former Kansas City Royal John Buck, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday, and Texas now has its focus on Rod Barajas, Bengie Molina and Yorvit Torrealba.

Among the former Rangers still on the market are outfielder Marlon Byrd and first baseman/designated hitter Hank Blalock.