December 18, 200421 yr It's official, now what? "Rangers, Dellucci agree to deal" Rangers, Dellucci agree to deal By Robert Falkoff / MLB.com? After lengthy negotiations, the Rangers have accomplished one of their key offseason goals by reaching a multiyear contract agreement with free agent outfielder David Dellucci. General manager John Hart confirmed Friday night that Dellucci has agreed to a two-year deal with Texas. The contract still must be finalized, but that appears to be merely a rubber stamp process. The Marlins, Diamondbacks and Rockies had also been strongly pursuing Dellucci. "David was a big part of our success last season," Hart said. "We are glad we could come to an agreement with him and look forward to his contributions both on and off the field in the next two years." Dellucci set career-highs in homers (17) and RBIs (61) last season, and the Rangers felt his clubhouse presence was a huge positive for a Texas club which contended for a division title until the final week of the regular season. Dellucci, 31, was hitting .266 until a late-season slump in the final 19 games brought his average down to .242. He is expected to be the club's fourth outfielder and also be in the designated hitter mix against right-handed pitching. While Florida and Arizona came after Dellucci, strongly with two-year offers in the early stages of the free agency signing period, the Rangers worked diligently to retain Dellucci. They offered him arbitration to keep the negotiations going and were ultimately able to work out a deal Friday with Dellucci's agent, Gregg Clifton. With Dellucci in the fold, the Rangers will now turn their attention to Monday's non-tender deadline. A new wave of free agents will be created from players who are not tendered contracts. "We'll monitor that market," Rangers assistant GM Jon Daniels said. "There could be some interesting names out there." Robert Falkoff is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
December 18, 200421 yr Sigh.... eh... I think people were getting a little overexcited about him anyway. Unfortunately there's not much left out there now. :confused
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