ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Rougned Odor can buy a lot of hay, and maybe even a few more horses, with his new contract from the Texas Rangers.
The young second baseman agreed Thursday to a six-year pact that includes a club option for 2023 and guarantees him at least $49.5 million. The deal was sealed when the AL West champions added two horses .
“I have a passion for horses,” Odor said. “I love horses. It’s one of my hobbies, being around the horses.”
So when general manager Jon Daniels saw no reaction from Odor after presenting the financial numbers, the GM showed a picture of the quarterhorses.
As for the money, Odor got a $2 million signing bonus and a $13.5 million club option for 2023 with a $3 million buyout. His salary will be $1 million this season, and then it will increase to $3 million in 2018 and $7.5 million in 2019. He will make $9 million in 2020 before $12 million in each of the last two years of the contract.
“He’s 23 years old and already one of the best middle infielders in the game,” Daniels said. “The sky’s the limit.”
The new contract will also allow Odor to move his parents and teenage sister to Texas from his tumultuous home country of Venezuela.
“I always wanted to bring my family to here. They love Texas, they love being around here,” Odor said. “It’s a little hard when we play here and our family is in another country.”
Odor is already going into his fourth season with the Rangers. He hit .271 with 33 home runs and 88 RBIs last year, when he became known to many for punching Toronto slugger Jose Bautista during a May 15 game , the finale of a contentious series. Odor served a seven-game suspension for his role in the fight.
Odor was the youngest player in the majors when he made his Rangers debut in May 2014. He has hit .265 with 58 homers and 197 RBIs in his career.
He played for Venezuela this spring in the World Baseball Classic.
The contract for Odor is the same length as the one the Rangers gave to 28-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus, the team’s longest-tenured player going into his ninth season.
“It’s great to play next to Elvis,” Odor said. “Great player, great person. The first year I came up to the big leagues, he was one of the guys who helped me a lot.”
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