Here's where Rangers stand on free agent Pérez

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- When the Rangers didn’t deal staff ace Martín Pérez at the 2022 Trade Deadline, general manager Chris Young said there was no doubt the club would welcome the lefty back for another season (or a few) in Texas.

The Rangers have had exclusive negotiating rights with Pérez, and with the conclusion of the World Series -- which was won by the AL West-rival Astros -- free agency looms without a deal in sight between the two sides. Come 4 p.m. CT Thursday, players can begin signing with new clubs.

Texas would be smart to lock Pérez up before then or shortly thereafter.

The lefty is coming off a career year in his second stint with the Rangers, making his first career All-Star Game appearance while posting a career-best 2.89 ERA over 196 1/3 innings. He anchored the rotation while consistently contributing as a veteran presence on the young pitching staff.

It’s unlikely Pérez will replicate his career year from 2022, but if he performs anywhere near that level, it would provide a boost for the Rangers’ rotation that boasts Jon Gray as the only established big league starter.

“We've continued to have good conversations with Martín’s representative,” Young said. “We would welcome Martín back and I'm hopeful to get something done. We’re considering different options and what is the best path moving forward, including the qualifying offer.

“Martín had a tremendous year and obviously is going to have value in the market. He understands that and we're trying to decide the best way to proceed, but we're certainly hopeful to get Martín as a Ranger. He’s someone that had a tremendous year for us and we really welcome the opportunity to bring him back.”

Young and the Rangers’ front office are now evaluating between offering a short-term extension to the 31-year-old or extending a one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer and run the risk of him declining it.

The deadline for teams to extend a qualifying offer is Thursday, and the deadline for players to accept is 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Every step of the way, Pérez has expressed his desire to return to the club that first signed him as a 17-year-old out of Venezuela. But he won’t take less than he believes he’s worth, and that will no doubt be a talking point when it comes to the qualifying offer.

Despite all that, Pérez wants to return to Texas. The Rangers seem to want him back an equal amount. With Gray as the only other big league starting arm under contract, bringing back Pérez is the perfect first step to another big offseason spending spree.

Another veteran player than the Rangers declined to deal at the Trade Deadline is Matt Moore, who thrived out of the bullpen with a 1.95 ERA and is also approaching free agency. Like Pérez, the club is also interested in continuing the relationship with Moore going into 2023.

And also like Pérez in the rotation, Moore added stability to a young bullpen that craved a veteran presence.

“I've been in touch with Matt’s agent and I look forward to sitting down with him, hopefully at the GM Meetings,” Young said. “It's looking like we may be in a quiet period now. So obviously it's one internally that we can talk to, but yes, we have strong interest in bringing back Matt as well. He had a phenomenal year with a veteran presence in our bullpen. Just tremendous performance on the field as well. We would have interest in bringing that back as well.”

Texas hopes to add elsewhere to the pitching staff as free agency moves forward, regardless of if the two veterans re-sign with the club. Last offseason, the Rangers committed $500 million over 10 years with the deals of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Gray. It’s more than reasonable to assume they will do the same -- or close to it -- this winter.

“I can't comment on specific numbers that we will add this year,” Young said. “Certainly we have flexibility and [majority owner] Ray [Davis] has been great in terms of providing resources and increasing payroll where it's going to allow us to compete in the free agent market. We certainly are excited to add to our club and hopefully put a competitive team on the field next year that has a chance of winning the division and making the playoffs.”