The agent for Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler met with the team today to talk contract extension, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (HT: Hardball Talk). Kinsler's rep, Jay Franklin, told Sullivan that he's "not optimistic" about making a deal before opening day, but he did strike a conciliatory note by saying the Rangers' efforts at re-upping with Kinsler and other key contributors are "sincere."
Kinsler has said he won't negotiate once the season begins, but there's still plenty of time to reach an agreement. The Rangers have a $10-million option on Kinsler for next season, which they'll surely exercise, so there's an additional window of opportunity this coming winter.
While Josh Hamilton has the AL MVP trophy on his mantle (alongside the deer antlers, one assumes) and Michael Young has the fawning press coverage, it's Kinsler who has been the linchpin throughout the team's rise to AL dominance. He's also coming off the best season of his career.
In 2011, Kinsler, besides finally avoiding the disabled list and becoming a two-time member of the 30-30 club, notched more walks than strikeouts and finished fifth in the AL in WAR. He's an exceptional defender, and, while he doesn't hit for high averages, he has excellent secondary hitting skills (i.e., hitting for power and drawing walks), particularly by middle-infielder standards. Presumably, the five-year, $62-million extension that Dan Uggla signed in January of last year will be a mere starting point for negotations with Kinsler.
To be sure, there's risk to giving a multi-year extension to a second baseman with a history of leg problems, but second keystoners who can hit and provide Gold Glove-caliber fielding are rare things. As well, there's not an impact second baseman in the Ranger system, unless they consider re-positioning Jurickson Profar (and there's no indication they will).
From the Rangers' perspsctive, they have the luxury of time. If they choose, they can let Kinsler play out the upcoming season and see whether he stays healthy and whether his skills remain intact (early decline is always a threat with second basemen). But they'll consider all these things knowing they have the revenue base to withstand a contract that goes bad on the back end and knowing they're squarely in "win now" mode.
A "wait and see" approach makes sense from the standpoint GM Jon Daniels, so long as such an approach doesn't sour Kinsler on the idea of coming back.