Joe Nathan signs contract as Texas Rangers look for rotation – MLB News
The Texas Rangers on Monday, November 21 signed a two-year contract with Joe Nathan, the Minnesota Twins’ pitcher in a $14.5 million deal. This comes in the wake of moves to re-sign starter C. J. Wilson for the Rangers.
The move was somehow having an element of surprise in it given the fact that the entire focus seemed on C. J. Wilson. But nonetheless, the move enables the Texas Rangers to move closer Neftali Feliz into the rotation in the regular season of 2012.
Jon Daniels, the General Manager of the Texas Rangers, spoke highly of Joe Nathan, calling the player as ‘one of the best arms in professional baseball’. He also revealed that the Rangers had been looking for this deal for over two years now.
The timing, however, according to Daniels, had to be right. Bringing Nathan in the fold, the Texas Rangers will now have created enough space for Neftali Feliz to become a starter.
"We're getting a guy with big-time makeup, big-time pedigree and big-time stuff in Joe Nathan and also moving one of the best arms in professional baseball to the rotation,” said Jon Daniels. “This is a move that we have thought about for last two years.”
Feliz, who was being tipped to be the next starter for the Rangers, will have a major boost from this decision. Being a closer for the Rangers, his elevation as the starter depended on having a strong pitcher in the side for rotation.
"I was a starter for my whole career before I came to the Major Leagues," Feliz said in a statement released through the Rangers from his home in the Dominican Republic. "I am happy to know the team's decision this early, and I have plenty of time to get
ready.”
With the new induction in the team and the rotation, the Texas Rangers are expected to infuse a new winning spirit in the team. Only this year did the St. Louis Cardinals take the lead from the Rangers in the World Series, winning it by 4-3 in the best-of-the-seven
games.
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