Rangers' biggest mistake in rearview mirror

Alex Rodriguez will likely be named American League Most Valuable Player next Monday. And he'll deserve it. He hit .314 with 54 homers and 156 RBIs.

And the Texas Rangers are happy. Rodriguez's big season convinced him (and agent Scott Boras) to opt out of the 10-year, $252 million contract he signed in 2001. It ends one of the strangest chapters in baseball contract history, when the Rangers were paying the megabucks New York Yankees to take the best player in the game off their hands.

Because the deal was voided, the Rangers will save $21.3 million that they owed the Yankees for the final three years of the contract. That's $7.1 million per season.

As Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told Buster Olney of ESPN: "It was like going through the pockets of an old pair of jeans and finding a $20 bill."

The Rangers can pursue Torii Hunter, one of the jewels in this year's free agent class, to play center field. Hunter lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and will be a perfect fit. Others want the Rangers to pursue Japanese center fielder Kosuke Fukudome. But they shouldn't be rash.

It seemed weird for the Rangers to have addition by subtraction. They started in a $7.1 million hole against the rest of the league. Now, their balance sheet could finally add up.