Rangers, Holland Put Extension Talks On Hold

The Rangers and left-handed starter Derek Holland have stopped discussing a possible contract extension for the time being, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports. The Rangers and Holland’s representatives at Martini Sports Management started discussing a long-term deal in December, but aren’t likely to resume negotiations this offseason. Holland, who missed this year's super two cutoff and is not yet arbitration eligible, will remain under team control through 2015. A five-year deal would buy out one pre-arbitration season, his three years of arbitration eligibility and his first season of free agency. The 25-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season. He set career highs in everything from ERA to innings to strikeouts (162) to wins above replacement (3.6). Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill are unavoidable points of reference for the Rangers and Holland’s repre...