Texas Rangers Sign A.J. Pierzynski

It was already a done deal, in the minds of most. Maybe some nostalgia driven hope that A.J. Pierzynski would remain in Chicago existed here and there, but we all knew it was coming, and now it’s happened. A.J. is now taking orders from the man that slighted him an All-Star nod his final White Sox campaign. The man A.J. took a few jabs at regarding that whole situation, that’s his boss now. Ron Washington and A.J. Pierzynski. That’ll be interesting. It’ll also be fun for A.J., I’d wager. U.S. Cellular is no pitcher’s haven as we all know, but The Ballpark at Arlington plays just as heavily to hitters, if not more so just for not being weather reliant. It’s very likely, of course, that he’ll see a decline in his power numbers from 2012, the favorable conditions should lighten that blow a touch.

A White Sox no more. (Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports)

Official dollar amounts aren’t released yet*, though certainly by the time I hit publish they will be and I will have to insert a nice little asterisk on the part about no dollar amounts making this portion of my rant kind of meta. It is known, however, that the deal is for one year. I find this a curious, as I was under the impression it was an extended length of contract that the White Sox were shying away from rather than a solid dollar amount on a single year deal. After all, they gave Gavin Floyd $9M, right?

*$7.5M for 1-year.

A.J. fills a slot formerly held by Mike Napoli, who may or may not be on the Red Sox, and does so more handily (and handedly!) creating a nice platoon split with the right handed hitting Geovany Soto. He’ll probably also see some time at DH, where the Rangers currently have Mike Olt and David Murphy slotted. Olt is being blocked at third by Adrian Beltre but is a bat they’d like to get into the lineup. The Rangers are having some issues with the blocking prospects currently as Jurickson Profar, widely regarded as baseball’s #1 prospect is being blocked by Elvis Andrus. It’s a good problem to have, and one to be discussed elsewhere this is an A.J. Pierzynski departure post. Sorry!

So Tyler Flowers is happy, many Sox fans aren’t sure what to think, and a large segment of women on the South Side of Chicago are having a very tough time with emotions overall right now. We wish A.J. farewell, he’s put together some quality years and participated in some amazing moments for the White Sox. He’s an all-time fan favorite here and I’m sure when he returns to The Cell in August he’ll get a nice, healthy reception. Provided he hasn’t already said something to alienate his old stomping grounds. It’s A.J. Pierzynski after all.