Blockbuster deals are sending Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to Dallas, and when they say everything’s bigger in Texas, they must mean the contracts, too. Semien’s contract is good for $175 million over five years, and the Texas Rangers lockdown Seager in a massive ten-year, $325 million deal. The Rangers have made it clear they won’t be holding back on spending for talent after last year’s 102-loss season.

The shortened 2020 season affected athletes and Semien was no exception. He struggled with the Oakland Athletics that season which lead to a one-year stint with the Toronto Blue Jays. He moved from shortstop to second base and changed up his batting strategy. In a shift from the previous year where he chose to walk frequently, he became more aggressive on fastballs. Thirty-six of his 45 home runs were off fastballs. Semien is coming off an MVP-candidate year. He won both Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards and played in all 162 games for the second time in three seasons.

Seager was one of the most coveted free agents on the market. He has a career slash line of 297/.367/.504. In just a seven-year career, his accolades already include a National League Rookie of the Year Award, two NL Silver Slugger Awards, two All-Star selections, and NLCS and World Series MVP Awards. Injuries plagued him the last few seasons, but when healthy, Seager has proven to be incredibly consistent at-bat. His average has not dipped below .295 as a major leaguer. The Semien and Seager signings should help bring the Rangers back to relevancy next season.

Semien and Seager will be teaming up with recent additions Jon Gray coming from the Colorado Rockies and Kole Calhoun from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers are eager to secure players (pending physicals) with a possible MLB lockout since the collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Wednesday at midnight.

The MLB All-Star starters have been revealed. This season was the first time the league implemented a two-part voting process. The first phase of the voting had three finalists for each defensive position. Nine outfielders advanced to the second phase of voting as well as a designated hitter in the American League. The second phase of voting determined the All-Star Game’s starters.

The process saw nine first-time All-Stars selected by the fans to start this year’s game. The headliners included San Diego Padres’ shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who was voted to start as the AL’s designated hitter.

Mike Trout, who was voted as one of the starting outfielders for the AL, will be unable to play as he is recovering from a strained calf. Toronto leads all teams with three players making the starting lineup.

American League Starters:

• C- Salvador Perez 
• 1B- Vladimir Guerrero Jr 
• 2B- Marcus Semien
• 3B- Rafael Devers
• SS: Xander Bogaerts 
• OF- Mike Trout
• CF- Aaron Judge
• LF- Teoscar Hernández
• DH- Shohei Ohtani

National League Starters:

• C- Buster Posey
• 1B- Freddie Freeman
• 2B- Adam Frazier
• 3B- Nolan Arenado
• SS- Fernando Tatis Jr.
• CF- Ronald Acuña Jr.
• LF- Jesse Winker
• RF- Nick Castellanos

The National League team will be coached for the third consecutive year by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, while Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash will coach the AL.

The rest of the MLB’s All-Stars will be named on July 4. Pitchers and reserves for each team will be determined by a process that considers selections made by the Commissioner’s Office and the player ballot choices.