ESPN Insider: How the Rangers went all-in—and ignited an AL arms race in the process

Everything had lined up right. Last year’s free agent signings, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, were in their primes, others on the team in the midst of career years. Three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy had come out of retirement to shepherd the Rangers. Yet on Saturday night, four days ahead of the 2023 deadline, as bright as their future suddenly looked, they couldn’t gaze into the distance. Right in front of them was a window, wide open.

“If we’re not going for it now,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said, “when would we?”..

Later that day, when the Mets traded reliever David Robertson to the Miami Marlins, Scherzer sought a meeting with Cohen for clarity about the team’s plans going forward. On July 28, Cohen informed him the team was not planning a free agent spending spree this winter—certainly, nothing like the $498.1 million they guaranteed in the 2022-23 offseason—and was targeting 2025 as the beginning of its next window. At that point, Scherzer decided he would not stand in the way of a deal that landed him in a desirable spot.