The transaction orgy of the past few days has been stupendous for baseball fans accustomed to a more leisurely pace during the late autumn and winter months. That said, it's been more stupendous for some fans than others, and no fan base ought to feel more adrenalized than that of the Texas Rangers.
With the news Monday that Texas had reached an agreement with star shortstop Corey Seager on a 10-year, $325 million contract, the Rangers' offseason has gone from encouraging to exhilarating. Seager's megadeal comes on the heels of Texas' trio of agreements on Sunday, landing the Rangers Marcus Semien (now probably an ex-shortstop turned second baseman), starting pitcher Jon Gray and outfielder Kole Calhoun.
All it took was a can-do spirit, an aggressive mindset -- and $561 million in salary commitments.
The scale and pace of this year's free-agent frenzy has been something to behold, especially coming at a time on the baseball calendar during which it's usually safe to do things like visit family, watch an episode of "Succession" or go to the grocery without missing a breaking news alert. Not this November. As someone who moved over from NBA coverage a few years back, I've noticed that these past few days have a familiar feel, and I like it. Hopefully, as the players and owners negotiate in Dallas on the expiring CBA, they've taken note of the buzz their sport is currently generating.
However, there is another NBA dynamic that sprang to mind when I heard the Seager news. Executives in the NBA have long recognized the most important step in building a championship-caliber roster is also the hardest one: acquiring a franchise-level star player. There are only so many in the league at any given time, and NBA teams used to plan for the expiration of certain contracts so that they might be positioned to grab such a star in free agency.