Good News: Texas Rangers has finally sign him

Wyatt Langford, the fourth overall draft choice, joins the Rangers with a nearly record signing bonus.
The sixth-largest signing bonus in history, $8 million, was awarded to the Florida outfielder.

Wyatt Langford, an outfielder from Florida and the fourth overall pick in this month’s MLB Draft, officially signed a contract with the Rangers on Tuesday, receiving an $8 million signing bonus, as confirmed to The Dallas Morning News by a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. It was Jim Callis of MLB.com who initially broke the signing bonus details.

“He’s a championship player,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said Tuesday. “I think that’s what it boils down to. We’re trying to fill our organization with championship players, and certainly we think Wyatt is that.”

Langford’s over-slot bonus (the value for this year’s fourth overall pick was $7.69 million) is the sixth-largest in MLB history, behind only Washington’s Paul Skenes ($9.2 million, 2023), Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson ($8.42 million, 2020), Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday ($8.19 million, 2022), Arizona’s Druw Jones ($8.19 million, 2022) and Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman ($8.10 million, 2020). ($7.92 million) was previously the fifth-highest signing bonus ever.

Although there isn’t any particular meaning behind the number—”It’s kind of just what I was given at Florida,” Langford stated—he hopes to stick with it.

“This place in Texas is hard to beat, Arlington,” Langford remarked. This is the one location, in comparison to some of the others, where I would have preferred to have ended up, and that’s kind of how it worked out. Simply put, I’m ecstatic to be here.