The Texas Rangers have signed Joe Nathan to a 2-year deal with a club option for a third year. Including a potential buyout after two years, Nathan will be guaranteed $14.5 million bucks. Nathan pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 2-1 with 14 saves, a 4.84 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Nathan came on strong in the second half of last year as he started to regain his form from Tommy John Surgery. Nathan has now pitched in 581 games (29 starts) in his first 11 years in the show and he is 48-23 with 261 saves, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Nathan will likely take over a the closer for the Rangers, who will likely move Neftali Feliz to the rotation to replace C.J. Wilson.

The Texans Rangers are probably going to lose C.J. Wilson. If they do, they will likely move Neftali Feliz out of his closer’s job and into the rotation. With that in mind, here are the three guys I would sign if I were running the Rangers:

1. Ryan Madson - Ryan Madson really was outstanding as the full-time closer for the Phillies last year. He the kind of shutdown closer that would open the door for Feliz to join the rotation.

2. George Sherrill - The Rangers want to bring back Darren Oliver, but if he leaves, George Sherrill would be a pretty good fit for the Rangers.

3. Adam Kennedy - The Rangers could use the very versatile Adam Kennedy as he can play anywhere in the infield and he would be a huge improvement over Andres Blanco in 2012.

35-year old righty swinging DH/1B/3B Michael Young finished 8th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Young played in 159 games for the Rangers last year and he was 213 of 631 (.338 avg, .854 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 11 homers, 106 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,667 games in his first 12 years with the Rangers and he is 2,061 of 6,788 (.304 avg, .801 OPS) with 1,006 runs scored, 169 homers, 917 RBIs and 87 stolen bases. Young is showing no signs of slowing down for the Rangers and he was a HUGE reason for them getting back to the World Series in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler finished 11th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Kinsler played in 155 games for the Rangers in 2011 and he was 158 for 620 (.255 avg, .832 OPS) with 121 runs scored, 32 homers, 77 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. 2011 was Kinsler’s second season in which he has been a 30/30 man, showing what he can do when he can stay healthy. Kinsler has now played in 773 games in his first six years with the Rangers and he is 826 of 3,001 (.275 avg, .824 OPS) with 558 runs scored, 124 homers, 395 RBIs and 136 stolen bases.

32-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre finished 15th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Beltre played in 124 games for the Rangers last year and he was 144 of 487 (.296 avg, .892 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 32 homers, 105 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,959 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 2,033 of 7,361 (.276 avg, .797 OPS) with 994 runs scored, 310 homers, 1,113 RBIs and 114 stolen bases.

30-year old lefty swinging CF/LF Josh Hamilton finished tied for 22nd in the A.L. MVP Voting with righty reliever David Robertson of the Yankees. Hamilton played in 121 games for the Rangers in 2011 and he was 145 of 487 (.298 avg, .882 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 25 homers, 94 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton has now played in 589 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 698 of 2,263 (.308 avg, .909 OPS) with 368 runs scored, 118 homers, 425 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. If Hamilton can stay injury free in 2012, he could make a serious run at winning another MVP Award.

59-year old Ron Washington finished in 3rd place in the voting for the 2011 A.L. Manager of the Year Award. He led the Rangers to playoffs as they won the A.L. West with a 96-66 (59.3%) record. The Rangers are now 427-383 (52.7%) in his first five years with the Rangers. Washington has repaid the Rangers’ confidence after he failed a drug test during the 2010 season. Washington does now how to get the best out of his players, so look for the Rangers’ success to continue.

The Rangers have released 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Miguel Velazquez. He didn’t play last year at all. He played in 206 games in his three years in the minors for the Rangers and he was 228 for 800 (.285 avg, .811 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 28 homers, 145 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Velazquez will hook on with another team soon, but the Rangers likely won’t miss him much as they are loaded in the outfield.

30-year old lefty starting pitcher C.J. Wilson finished 6th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award voting. He pitched in 34 games (all starts) in 2011 and he was 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Wilson has now pitched in 325 games (73 starts) in his first 7 years with the Rangers and he is 43-35 with 52 saves, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. It’s still up in the air as to whether or not Wilson will be back with the Rangers in 2012, but I don’t think they will overpay for him.

33-year old righty swinging 2B Esteban German has elected free agency over a return to the Rangers in 2012. German played in 11 games for the Rangers last year and he was 5 for 11 (.455 avg, 1.280 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 48 games in his four years with the Rangers and he was 25 for 74 (.338 avg, .857 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. German is smart to get out of Texas, because he was a major league player stuck in AAA the last couple of years with the Rangers.