Corey Seager, Rangers agree to 10-year, $325 million deal as star misses Dodgers exit

Free agent points Corey Seager agreed to sign with Texas Rangers, CBS Sports HQ’s Jim Bowden confirmed Monday. Seager, who has devoted his entire career to Dodgers, will sign a 10-year contract worth $325 million.

Seager is the second major commitment to a central midfielder that Rangers have made in the past two days. On Sunday, they agreed terms with Marcus Semien on a seven-year, $175 million contract. It is clear that Seager and Semien will form the Texas doubles combination for most of the remainder of the decade.

Rangers have also signed starter Jon Gray and midfielder Kole Calhoun in recent days as they attempt to overhaul a squad that had a 60-102 record last season. Rangers haven’t made it past the post-season since 2016. They’ve finished last in three of the past four years, including the previous two.

Seager, 27, entered the tournament which was ranked as CBS Sports’ second best free agent. This is what we wrote at the time:

Seager can really hit. He has the fourth-highest OPS+ of any first non-base entry in the past two seasons, second only to Fernando Tatis Jr., Trea Turner, and José Ramírez. He also ranks in the 80th percentile or higher for 2021 in two key categories: 1) the percentage of balls hit with an exit velocity over 95 mph and 2) the percentage of balls hit with an angle zoom from 10 to 30 degrees. The fact that he is able to post such numbers despite having a jovial approach (his turn-to-turn ratio is close to that of Yermín Mercedes’) is a testament to his sense of touch. If there are areas to book with Seager, they relate to his past woes and his long defensive position. He tends to have a hard time fighting for the ball and it’s likely he’ll have to slide to the hot corner sooner. The bat will play there.

Seager was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round (18th overall) out of high school in 2012 and debuted in 2015. Now after seven with the Dodgers, he’s hit .297 / .367 /.504 (131 OPS+) with two All-Star appearances and a huge payday in his first freelancing.

Last season, Seager missed an unfortunate period due to a fracture in his right arm when he was hit on the field on May 15. In 95 games played, he hit the .306 / .394 / .521 mark (145 games). OPS+) with 22 doubles, three triplets, 16 home hits, 57 RBIs, 54 runs, and 3.7 WINS.