Texas Rangers sign Ian Kinsler to 5 year extension

[Mavs Man]

Kinsler, Rangers agree on 5-year, $22M deal
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com

Updated: February 19, 2008, 1:53 PM ET

Second baseman Ian Kinsler has agreed to a five-year, $22 million contract with the Texas Rangers. The deal includes a club option for a sixth year that could increase the overall value of the package to $32 million.

Kinsler, 25, hit .261 with 20 homers and 23 stolen bases for the Rangers last season. Despite missing almost the entire month of July with a stress fracture in his left foot, he became the sixth player in club history to put up a 20-homer, 20-steal season.

The new contract will take Kinsler through three years of salary arbitration and his first year of free agency -- and possibly a second year if the Rangers exercise their $10 million club option.

Kinsler is the second big league second baseman to sign a multiyear deal since the start of spring training. Brandon Phillips, who has one more year of service time than Kinsler, agreed to a four-year, $27 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds last week.

The deal comes about a year after the Rangers signed All-Star shortstop Michael Young to a five-year, $80 million extension.