The Texas Rangers just made a move that may seem foreign to local baseball fans – they signed a homegrown player to a multi-year deal as opposed to trading him away for mediocre pitching.
All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira agreed Tuesday to a two-year, $15.4 million contract, meaning he and the team will avoid salary arbitration this season and next.
Teixeira hit 43 home runs in 2005 while earning his first Gold Glove. His 144 runs batted in were the most ever by a switch-hitter, breaking the previous record of 136 set by the New York Giants’ George Davis in 1896.
“It’s pretty exciting not to have this to be a topic of conversation the next couple of years,” manager Buck Showalter told the Associated Press.
Teixeira will earn $6 million this season and $9.4 million in 2007.
One of the most important figures, however, is the first baseman’s age -Ã he will turn 26 in April, and Texas hopes his best years are still to come. The deal also solidifies the team’s commitment to Teixeira, who finished seventh in the 2005 American League Most Valuable Player vote.
Unlike former Ranger All-Stars Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano, fans have watched “Big Tex” blossom in Arlington – from a third baseman fresh out of Georgia Tech to one of the premier offensive threats in the American League.
In 2003, Teixeira was moved from third to first when Rafael Palmeiro moved into the designated hitter role. Since then, he has hit 107 home runs with 340 RBIs and a .282 batting average.
“He turned himself into a Gold Glove first baseman,” Showalter said. “A lot of people would have used the position change as an excuse, [but] he’s very driven, a self-starter.”
With Teixeira in place, the team can now focus on other potential arbitration cases, including outfielders Kevin Mench and Gary Matthews Jr. and starting pitcher Vicente Padilla.
