Texas Rangers re-sign Jason Frasor for 2014

Per Rangers media man John Blake on Twitter, the Texas Rangers have re-signed righthanded reliever Jason Frasor to a one year deal.

Evan Grant tweets that the contract is for $1.75 million, plus incentives.

Frasor was scheduled to become a free agent after the World Series, but apparently he was willing to forego testing the free agent waters in order to return to Texas.

Final evaluation will depend on what the incentives are, but my initial reaction is that this is a very solid signing.  Frasor, 35, got off to a rough start to the season, giving up a pair of home runs in his second outing of the season, and quickly fell out of favor with Ron Washington, who was loathe to use him in tight spots early on.

However, Frasor quietly rebounded and finished the season strong, putting up a 2.57 ERA in 49 innings over 61 games, with a 2.57 ERA and a 3.37 FIP.  After allowing the two home runs in his second appearance, Frasor allowed just two more homers the rest of the season.

Frasor at less than $2M is a solid signing, as he's a very useful middle reliever, and the money committed is a rounding error compared to the overall team payroll.

That said, Frasor being inked would seem to make it less likely that Joe Nathan returns for 2014.  Nathan can void the team option that the Rangers hold on him for 2014, and he appears likely to exercise that right and become a free agent, as he is seeking a multi-year deal.

The Rangers now have Frasor, Neal Cotts, Robbie Ross, Tanner Scheppers, Joakim Soria, and Neftali Feliz under team control for next season, all of whom would be slated for the bullpen.  With Alexi Ogando possibly heading back to the bullpen for 2014, the numbers alone would suggest that Nathan doesn't fit here, unless the Rangers were to use Scheppers or Ross as trade bait.