Colby Rasmus, Seven Year Contracts and Rangers Getting Healthy

Happy Thursday morning. Time for your SoDo Sunrise. The Mariners have been making news for off the field stuff lately – LED lights at Safeco, new alternate uniforms, FanFest coming this weekend.

But, other teams around the league continue to make moves to put themselves in a position to be competitive in October.

So, let’s take a look around the AL West and beyond to find what’s making news today.

Rangers Getting Good News

After a forgettable 2014 season that saw multiple players – and seemingly even retired ones – go down with a number of injuries, Rangers fans got some good news from the team’s mini-camp.

As Lisa Weatherall at Nolan Writin reports, the Rangers got promising news regarding Yu Darvish, Jurickson Profar, Matt Harrison and others.

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Does Colby Rasmus make the Astros Better?

The Houston Astros signed Colby Rasmus to a one-year $8 million contract. The Astros have been as active as any team this offseason – not named the A’s – and this signing appears on the surface to be a solid one.

Jason Burke at Climbing Tal’s Hill takes a look and gives his opinion on whether or not the signing actually helps the team get bettter.

Next: Does Colby Rasmus Make Astros Better?

Seven-year deals for pitchers equals big trouble

With the Nationals signing Max Scherzer to a 7-year deal on Wednesday, ESPN’s Jayson Stark looks at previous 7-year deals for pitchers as a cautionary tale for the Nats.

Stark then ranks them best to worst in terms of total WAR over the life of the deal.

I have long been against 7-year (or longer) deals for any player, but especially a pitcher. When you factor in the deferred part of the deal, it’s a huge no-no in my book.

Next: Seven-year deals for pitchers ... big trouble