Marcus Semien, who hit 45 home runs this past season for the Blue Jays, is headed to the Texas Rangers on a seven-year, $175 million contract. Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The Texas Rangers have reached an agreement on a seven-year contract with Gold Glove second baseman and potential shortstop Marcus Semien, according to a source familiar with the deal.

That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday night because the deal was not finalized. ESPN, which first reported the agreement, said it was worth $175 million.

Semien was a shortstop in his six seasons with Oakland from 2015-20 before starting 147 games at second base and playing all 162 games for Toronto this year. He signed an $18 million, one-year deal with the Blue Jays in free agency last offseason.

Semien, 31, hit .265 and set career highs with his 45 homers, 102 RBI and 15 stolen bases in his only season in Toronto. He finished third in the AL MVP voting, like he did in 2019 when he played all 162 games for the Athletics and hit .285 with 33 homers and 92 RBI.

TWINS: Minnesota and center fielder Byron Buxton agreed to a seven-year, $100 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

Buxton posted an aerial picture of Target Field on his Instagram account with a heart emoji for a caption. The fleet-footed, big-swinging Buxton was only under team control for one more season, raising the possibility of a trade to stem the blow of losing him as a free agent.

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Buxton, 27, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft but has played more than 92 games only once in seven injury-plagued seasons. That was in 2017, when he played in 140 games and won a Gold Glove award.

Last year, Buxton broke out at the plate with 23 doubles, 19 home runs and a .306 average in just 235 at-bats. He had a .647 slugging percentage that would have led the majors if he had a qualifying amount of plate appearances.

MARLINS: Free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia has agreed to sign with Miami, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Garcia’s deal will pay $53 million over four seasons. The 30-year-old is coming off his best season, hitting 29 home runs with 86 RBI – both career-bests – for Milwaukee in 2021.

 

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