Marcus Semien leaves Blue Jays for 7-year deal with Rangers

American League MVP finalist Marcus Semien has agreed to a seven-year contract worth $175 million US with the Texas Rangers.

Semien is coming off a stellar season with the Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .265 with 102 runs batted in and set a single-season record for home runs by a second baseman with 45.

He finished third in the AL MVP voting, like he did in 2019 when he played all 162 games for the Oakland Athletics.

Semien was a finalist for the award this year along with teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The award ended up going to Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Signed last off-season on a one-year deal, Semien moved to second base — a position he hadn't played with any regularity since the 2014 season with the Chicago White Sox — and played every game for the Blue Jays.

Semien could play shortstop or second base for the Rangers, depending on what other moves might be made this off-season.

After a 102-loss season, the Rangers had indicated they were willing to spend as needed and could be active in free agency this off-season to improve the team. They went into the off-season with only about $28 million committed to salaries for 2022.

Texas this year used a club-record 26 rookies, with at least four or five of them routinely in the lineup.

The Rangers had their fifth consecutive losing season since last winning the AL West in 2016. They finished 29th in the majors with their .232 team batting average and were shut out a majors-high 15 times while scoring an AL-low 625 runs, their fewest in a full 162-game season since 613 in 1994.

Semien has a .256 batting average with 160 homers and 482 RBI in 1,020 career games over nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland and Toronto.

The Rangers have also reportedly come to terms with right-handed starter Jon Gray and outfielder Kole Calhoun, both free agents.

Gray agreed to a four-year deal with Texas worth $56 million after spending all seven of his big league seasons with Colorado, which drafted him third overall out of Oklahoma in 2013.

The 30-year-old Gray is 53-49 with a 4.59 ERA in 152 career games. In 29 starts this year, he was 8-12 with a 4.59 ERA — the same as his career mark — and had 157 strikeouts in 149 innings.

The 34-year-old Calhoun, whose one-year deal is reportedly worth $5.2 million and includes a team option for 2023, played for Arizona the past two seasons. He previously played in the AL West with the Los Angeles Angels from 2012-19.