Rangers have agreement with Semien on 7-year deal

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 person familiar with the deal.

That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday night because the deal was pending a physical and 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.

The 31-year-old Semien hit .265 and set career highs with his 45 homers, 102 RBIs 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 RBIs.

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

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

TORONTO — The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with right-hander Kevin Gausman

on a five-year, $110 million contract, pending a physical, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The 30-year-old Gausman was 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 192 innings for San Francisco last season. He has a 64-72 record and 4.02 ERA in his career with Baltimore, Atlanta and San Francisco.

The Blue Jays had been interested in Gausman last offseason but he elected to bet on himself and stay with the Giants on a one year deal. It paid off.

The Blue Jays also signed right-hander Jose Berríos to a seven-year, $131 million deal this offseason after acquiring him at the trade deadline. The two deals are the largest pitching contracts in team history.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins 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.

Despite some snags along the way in the negotiations, which were complicated by Buxton’s injury history that has significantly limited his availability to the Twins, the 27-year-old never wanted to leave the organization he joined straight out of high school in rural Georgia as the second overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Buxton has played more than 92 games only once in his seven major league seasons. That was in 2017, when he played in 140 games and won a Gold Glove award.

MIAMI — The Miami Marlins are finalizing an extension with right-hander Sandy Alcantara and have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Avisail Garcia,

a person with knowledge of the situations said.

Alcantara’s deal, first reported by The Miami Herald, will be worth $56 million over five seasons. Garcia’s deal will pay $53 million over four seasons. The figures were confirmed by the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither deal has been announced by the Marlins.

The 26-year-old Alcantara has gone 20-34 with a 3.48 ERA in four seasons with the Marlins. He started 33 games this past season for Miami, going 9-15 with a 3.19 ERA and had 201 strikeouts in 205 2-3 innings. The only other pitchers with at least 200 innings and 200 strikeouts in 2021 were Zach Wheeler and Walker Buehler.

Alcantara was the first Marlins pitcher in 19 years, and fifth ever, with 200 K’s in 200 innings. The others were Al Leiter in 1996, Kevin Brown in 1997, Ryan Dempster in 2000 and A.J. Burnett in 2002.

The Marlins will become Garcia’s fifth team. The 30-year-old is coming off his best season, hitting 29 home runs with 86 RBIs — both career-bests — for Milwaukee in 2021. Garcia opted for free agency earlier this month, and the Marlins have made clear in recent weeks that landing outfield help was a top offseason priority.