ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers’ farm system just got stronger.
Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford, the fourth overall pick in this month’s MLB Draft, officially signed with the Rangers on Tuesday and earned a $8 million signing bonus, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Dallas Morning News. Jim Callis of MLB.com first reported the details of the signing bonus.
“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). Rangers’ 2021 first-round pick Jack Leiter ($7.92 million) was previously the fifth-highest signing bonus ever.
The 21-year-old outfielder was introduced at Globe Life Field on Tuesday and presented with a No. 36 Rangers jersey.
Langford said there’s no specific sentiment behind the number (”It’s kind of just what I was given at Florida,” he said), but said it’s one he hopes to stick with.
“Arlington, it’s hard to beat a place like here in Texas,” Langford said. “Compared to some of the other places, this is the one place I would’ve liked to ended up, and it’s kind of how it played out. I’m just really excited to be here.”
Langford, a junior, was considered one of the draft’s best all-around hitters. He slashed .373/.498/.784 with 21 home runs, 57 RBIs and 83 runs scored in his final season at Florida this spring. He was a unanimous first-team All-American, a Golden Spikes award semifinalist and led the Gators to the College World Series finals.
Rangers director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg said that Langford first appeared on their radar in the middle of his sophomore season at Florida. Langford had just four at bats as a freshman in Gainesville.
“The year he had as a sophomore was eye-opening,” Fagg said. “It was a tremendous year. Not many guys have that path — don’t play much as a freshman, and then perform like he did as a sophomore — so obviously during his sophomore year, he was on our radar for sure.”
In its latest top 100 prospect rankings, Baseball America named Langford the No. 11 overall prospect in baseball and the No. 1 prospect in the Rangers’ organization. Young said that Langford will report to the Arizona rookie league with the rest of Texas’ draft picks in a few weeks.
“We want to make sure we do right by Wyatt and set him up for success,” Young said. “I’m sure he’s anxious to get started.”
