Rangers reportedly agree to four-year, $56 million deal with Jon Gray

Sunday ended up being a huge day for the Rangers. They landed shortstop Marcus Semien on a seven-year, $175 million late in the afternoon and now the news is they’ve agreed to a four-year, $56 million deal with free agent starting pitcher Jon Gray, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.

The Rangers lost 102 games last season and don’t have a bunch of young talent on the cusp of breaking through at the major-league level. They also had payroll pretty much down as low as it could get heading into the offseason with a new ballpark and an ownership group that has spent lavishly on payroll before.

Do the math and it seems like the front office plan this offseason is to spend their way back into relevance.

Gray will provide desperately needed rotation help. In seven years with the Rockies, the former number three overall pick went 53-49 with a 4.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, but keep in mind he’s pitching his home games there in Coors Field. He posted a 107 ERA+, which adjusts for defense and ballpark along with a 3.91 FIP, both figures indicating he’s a lot better pitcher than the raw ERA indicates.