Wednesday Newsletter time: The non-tender deadline clears space for some big announcements
The 40-man roster sits at 36 players, with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray expected to be added Wednesday.
The Texas Rangers needed some spots on the 40-man roster with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray. Conveniently, the non-tender deadline arrived Tuesday night.
The Rangers did not tender contracts to outfielder Billy McKinney and catchers David Garcia and Yohel Pozo, who came off the 40-man but could return to the organization on minor-league deals. The Rangers also assigned outfielder D.J. Peters outright to Triple A Round Rock.
Those moves created all the room they needed after outfielder Kole Calhoun was added following his one-year deal worth $5.2 million and filled the 40-man roster. In fact, those moves game them four openings, one more than needed.
Relax, a source said the Rangers have no more moves coming Wednesday.
The tentative plan is for the Rangers to complete the deals with Seager (10 years, $325 million), Semien (seven years, $175 million) and Gray (four years, $56 million) on Wednesday, and introduce them at a press conference.
Why the rush? Well …
Lockout inevitable?
The owners and players association have been meeting the past two days in Las Colinas as they try to bang out a new collective bargaining agreement before the 11:59 p.m. deadline tonight.
All indications are an agreement won’t be reached and that the owners will lock out the players.
It would be the first MLB work stoppage since the 1994 players strike that canceled the World Series and led to a delayed and shortened 1995 season. This stoppage could delay the start of the 2022 season.
That’s the scuttlebutt I turned up Tuesday. The lockout will last into spring training, delaying camp and pushing back Opening Day.
It seems pretty ironic, or dumb, in the face of teams shelling out money ahead of the deadline. The Rangers alone have spent $561.2 million.
While games won’t be lost to a lockout during the offseason, it’s possible fans could be turned by more squabbling between billionaires and millionaires.
Dykes’ baseball career
New TCU football coach Sonny Dykes never played college football. His sport was baseball, and Nolan Ryan helped him grow into a Rangers fans.
Dykes was a two-year letterwinner at Texas Tech, where his father, Spike, was the Red Raiders’ football coach. Sonny didn’t draw the interest of pro scouts in the early 1990s as a first baseman, so he followed in his dad’s footsteps and went into coaching football.
“I was a lousy baseball player, but I had fun,” Dykes said. “I was at best a one-tool player. You end up at first base if can’t field, you can’t throw and you can’t run. That’s kind of where you end up.”
He was part of the first recruiting class for coach Larry Hays, who had had great success at Lubbock Christian. Tim Tadlock, the current Texas Tech coach, was one of Dykes’ teammates.
Dykes’ father was a Houston Astros fan, in large part because of Ryan. Dykes followed his dad’s lead, but became more interested in the Rangers once Ryan signed with them after the 1988 season and spent the final five seasons of his career in Arlington.
Coaching brought Dykes to Dallas in 1994, and he attended the first game, an exhibition against the New York Mets, at the Ballpark in Arlington.
He’s all football now, but still had a fondness for the national pastime.
“I love baseball, but it’s funny: I probably couldn’t name 10 major-league ballplayers,” Dykes said. “It’s like a different world.”
Sounds like Chuck Morgan might want to give Dykes a call.
Doggy video!
I need this set up every time I eat chips and salsa and hit the margs. Enjoy. See you Thursday.
