Evan Grant writes at the DMN blog that two major league sources are telling him that the Rangers and Derek Holland are on the verge of a five year contract that would lock up Holland through the 2016 season.

There were reports earlier in the offseason that the Rangers were making progress on a deal with Holland, although nothing ended up happening at that time.

No financial details are provided, although Grant says that this deal would supersede Holland's existing 2012 contract for $504,700.

An off-the-cuff guess is that this would be a $26 million deal, with Holland getting $1 million in 2012, $3 million in 2013, $5 million in 2014, $7 million in 2015, and $10 million in 2016 (which would otherwise be his first free agency year).

Holland is expected to be the Rangers' #2 starter, behind Colby Lewis, at the beginning of the year, after a solid 2011 campaign that included a very strong second-half of the season.