SEATTLE - Throughout the season, as he inched closer and closer to executive free agency, Chris Young always indicated that he wasn’t so much negotiating a financial transaction as he was seeking the implementation of a long-term vision for the Texas Rangers.
Over 24 hours that culminated Friday afternoon with the Rangers announcing a long-term contract extension and promotion for Young via nothing more than an eight-paragraph press release and no fanfare, it became much easier to view that vision.
It’s about building a pitching-rich marquee organization with the flexibility to contend for multiple World Series titles. As the Rangers were sending the release announcing the extension, Young was boarding a flight to Tokyo to scout the next potential great Japanese pitching import, Rōki Sasaki, up close. The Rangers seem intent on making a bid if Sasaki enters international free agency this fall. Young got on the plane fresh off watching Kumar Rocker live up to the hype in the most ballyhooed MLB debut by a Rangers starter in more than 30 years. About the time dinner service was starting on the flight, two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom was taking the mound for the Rangers in his return from elbow surgery. Vision clear enough yet?
“Chris Young’s impact on the Texas Rangers organization has been immense over the last four years,” majority owner Ray Davis said in the statement. “His leadership and vision were instrumental in helping bring a World Series championship to Arlington for the first time, and he is passionate about producing a consistent winner on the field year in and year out for our fans.
“Our baseball operations group, from scouting and player development to the Major League team, is in great hands with [Young] at the helm for many years to come. I look forward to continuing our work together.”
That was all Davis said. In his mind, no need to say anything more. It was just another day at the office. The negotiation to him was all just formality. In his mind it was a certainty Young would guide the club long term. It was just a matter of sitting down. It apparently just took until the final month of the original deal to actually sit.
About Young’s deal: While terms were not disclosed, the Rangers announced it as a multiyear extension along with a promotion from general manager to president of baseball operations. His original deal, signed in December, 2020, was for four years. He entered as GM, but was No. 2 in baseball operations to Jon Daniels.
When Daniels was fired in August, 2022, Young took on oversight of the entire baseball operations department without a promotion. Then, in his first full year atop the operation, the Rangers won the franchise’s first World Series. It is customary to award such performance with an extension, but that didn’t immediately take place. The industry standard for these kinds of commitments is five years.
“The Texas Rangers organization holds a very special place for me, and I am excited to continue building on what we’ve started here,” Young, a Highland Park native and resident said in the release. “While the opportunity to be a part of a World Series Championship in my hometown was a tremendous thrill, our goal is to field a club that can contend for playoff berths every season. I’m grateful to Ray Davis for the trust he’s placed in me, and I’m confident we’ll be successful on this mission. Our fans deserve nothing less.”
The formula for building long-term contenders is simple: Develop controllable pitching, because constantly paying retail prices in free agency is simply not sustainable.
It has long been a struggle for the Rangers, but with Rocker and Jack Leiter, expected to pitch behind Max Scherzer on Saturday, the Rangers made significant draft investments into pitching after Young arrived. In addition, they have developed Cody Bradford and have two minor leaguers, Alejandro Rosario and Emiliano Teodo, on the brink of major league readiness.
A team that has pitching under control has resources available to spend on other areas. It is easier to find affordable position players in free agency to fill out a championship roster.
Just ask Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who has four World Series titles, and was the only one of the management team not speaking through press releases Friday. Bochy won his first three World Series in San Francisco, where the Giants developed Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner into a formidable rotation nucleus.
“We were set in the rotation,” he said. “We could focus on other areas. That’s what has to happen to sustain a winning organization.”
Now, there are details of the vision still to be worked out. It’s very likely the Rangers payroll will come down from a team record $250 million in 2024, though how much is uncertain. A lot will depend on how Davis finishes off negotiating a deal for the club’s linear broadcasting rights.
The Rangers were originally due $112 million from Diamond Sports, the parent company of Bally Sports Southwest, but that was renegotiated into a lesser amount, between $92 million to $95 million, after Diamond filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Rangers are eligible to negotiate with other outlets now and could form their own regional sports network. That would be a sensible long-term play, but would likely include a short-term drop in revenue due to startup costs and the migration of viewers from linear to streaming TV.
In addition, the Rangers have paid tax on their payroll each of the last two years for exceeding the Competitive Balance Tax threshold. If they exceed $241 million in 2025, they will pay 50% tax on the overage. Getting under the threshold would “reset” the penalties ahead of 2026.
In the meantime, there is no tax for building out infrastructure and for retaining personnel. Young’s deal included a promotion in terms of title. It leaves the title of GM open and raises the possibility the Rangers could further add to their management team or promote executives from within.
Some of that remained a bit murky on Friday. But the broader vision for the franchise started to come into sharper focus. At the center of the picture was Chris Young.
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