Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor is halfway through his third major league season and has just three months until his rookie contract is up, per Spotrac.
With team control and arbitration looming, the Rangers and Odor are in talks for a new deal. But Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported on Thursday that negotiations “broke off, at least for today” after Texas offered the 22-year-old a six-year, $35 million deal, plus two option years.
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Odor, Rangers Will Have to Pick Up Talks Later
Thursday, July 14
If a deal is unable to get done, then Odor will have to play under team control in 2017, which was instituted when he made his major league debut back in May 2014. Because he recorded less than 172 service days that year, the Rangers received one more year from him, and if things lead to arbitration, they can limit what he makes, per FanGraphs.
After the team-controlled 2017 season, Odor would hit three straight years of arbitration, which could hurt his wallet, per Spotrac.
Heyman broke down why those contract talks ended Thursday:
Word is, he and his agent didn’t want the two team option years that were part of the offer. Odor had made a counteroffer at one point, so he has a clear interest in signing, but the sides will have to pick up another time. The sides can re-address the situation in the winter, if not sooner, and are likely to do so.
Heyman also noted that Odor “is a feisty type who wants to fight hard for the best deal,” which could make negotiations tricky in the future.
Baseball fans are already aware of Odor’s feistiness after a May run-in with the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Jose Bautista:
Odor is on pace for a career season with a .275 average along with 16 home runs and 46 RBI. In 334 at-bats this year, he has recorded 92 hits. Last year, he had 111 in 426 at-bats.
Those 16 home runs are tied for fourth among all second basemen, per Yahoo Sports.
His efforts have helped the Rangers build a 5.5-game lead in the American League West with a 54-36 record, which is tied for second-best in the major leagues.
Since he’s a young star on a blossoming team in the American League, expect the Rangers to do everything they can to keep Odor in Texas for as long as possible.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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