The streak lives on.
The Texas Rangers finalized deals with their four arbitration eligible players before Thursday’s deadline, a person with direct knowledge of the agreements told The Dallas Morning News, and will avoid a hearing for a 26th consecutive year.
The club agreed to deals with third baseman Josh Jung, first baseman Jake Burger, infielder Josh Smith and infielder Ezequiel Duran. Each were in their first of three years of arbitration eligibility and remain under team control through the 2028 season.
The Rangers haven’t gone to a hearing — in which an independent arbiter decides on a player’s salary based on proposals from both sides — since 2000 when first baseman Lee Stevens and the club could not reach an agreement beforehand.
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Burger slashed .236/.269/.419, hit 16 home runs and took three trips to the injured list in his first season with the team. Jung, a rookie All-Star three seasons ago, posted a .684 OPS in 131 games and spent time at Triple-A Round Rock to reconfigure his offensive approach last season. Their respective ability to rebound and remain healthy will be critical to the offensive success of the Rangers under first-year manager Skip Schumaker.
Smith and Duran, the former of which has been the club’s super utility player in each of the last two seasons, are both expected to compete for the second base job after the club traded Marcus Semien to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
The Rangers non-tendered four players who would have been eligible for arbitration — outfielder Adolis GarcÃa, catcher Jonah Heim, right-handed pitcher Jacob Webb and right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz — before the Nov. 21 roster deadline.
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