The Texas Rangers have reached an agreement on a contract extension with All-Star left-hander Matt Harrison on a five-year deal worth $55 million. The deal will also include a club option for 2018 that can also be vested. Harrison was in his second year of arbitration eligibility and would have become a free agent after the 2014 season. Over the last two seasons, Harrison is 32-20 with a 3.34 ERA in 399 regular-season innings.
The Rangers now have their front three starters locked up into long-term deals. Yu Darvish is signed through 2017, and left-hander Derek Holland is signed through 2016 with club friendly options. Alexi Ogando is slated to be the number four starter, and the Rangers currently have lefties Robbie Ross and Martin Perez and right-handers Kyle McClellan and Justin Grimm to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.
That could change as the Rangers were one of five teams to watch free-agent right-hander Javier Vasquez tossed five shutout innings in a Puerto Rico winter league playoff game. The Rangers have also had discussions with Scott Boras about free-agent right-hander Kyle Lohse. Lohse was 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts and 211 innings pitched in 2012. Lohse is one of two players remaining that are tied to draft pick compensation, and reportedly has not received a single offer this off-season.
