Craig Breslow

If you think back to the outset of the offseason, we talked a lot about building a roster that we thought was capable of competing for a World Series in 2026 and beyond.

Bringing in a player with the talent and accomplishments of Ranger positions us, we believe, to do just that.

Ranger's been an excellent starting pitcher in a very tough division for a really long time, was an all-star two years ago, was even better last year.

But I think what really stands out is the body of work in the postseason.

When his teams needed him the most, he was at his best, and we look forward to Ranger continuing to build that postseason resume here over the next five years.

I also want to thank John, Tom, Mike, Sam, and Linda, our ownership group, for the support of this pursuit.

I've maintained over the last two years that

In my experiences, at any point, there was an opportunity to meaningfully improve the team.

We had not just the support, but the enthusiasm and the encouragement from our ownership group.

And I think today is even more evidence of that.

I also want to thank Scott and Luis, Greg, the Boris Corporation, who

Even going back to November, I think the first time that we talked about our interest in Ranger, negotiated in good faith and partnered with us to reach this outcome.

A number of people in baseball operations who put us in a position to take advantage of this opportunity from scouts to analysts to our leadership team and BOH who ran point on some of the negotiations.

um you know i think there was a there were a number of people who who contributed to such a great outcome here and then lastly anytime you make a commitment of this magnitude you want to have as much information as possible you want to know exactly what you're getting and fortunately because baseball is such a close-knit community it wasn't hard to find uh

mutual friends, former teammates, coaches, front office personnel who could speak about their relationships and experiences with Ranger.

And there were two things that really stood out.

One was just the sheer talent.

A number of people said that Ranger was the type of guy who could roll out of bed and throw a bullpen and not miss a single spot.

And I think our industry has moved away from that type of pitchability and guile.

But as we've seen over the last six years, there's definitely still a place for a pitcher who doesn't issue free passes and can manage hard contact.