It’s good to be Rougned Odor these days. The Texas Rangers second baseman was offered free BBQ food for life, he got to hang out with Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons at the Dallas Mavericks practice facility, and now the Rangers are talking about giving him a contract extension. Not only that, but owner Ray Davis had high praise for Odor.
Jon Heyman Today’s Knuckleball
Rougned Odor’s punch cost him seven games but could turn into a windfall, as it presented an opportunity for an in-person negotiating session between agent Rick Thurman and GM Jon Daniels, and they did take advantage, at least rekindling dormant talks. The Rangers’ feelings also became clear during the hearing where his ban was reduced from eight games as not only did Daniels speak, saying Odor has been everything they could have hoped for on and off the field, but owner Ray Davis spoke, as well. Davis upped the ante by predicting Odor was headed to the Hall of Fame.
Odor is currently under team control through the 2020 season. He turned 22 in February. Last season, Odor hit .261 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs. He’s currently sporting a .262/.287/.444 slash line on the season. With all that’s happened, we tend to forget that Odor is actually a good ballplayer and not just the guy who punched Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista.
It’s way too early to be talking Hall of Fame, but Odor, at the moment, is playing well for the Rangers and should be in the team’s plans for the future.
