ARLINGTON, Texas — Fourth overall draft pick Wyatt Langford, the catcher-turned-college outfielder who hit 47 homers at Florida the past two seasons, landed an $8 million signing bonus Tuesday that was the largest ever for a player drafted by the Texas Rangers.
“We think he’s the perfect fit for what we’re building here,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “Who he is as a person, his winning pedigree and certainly the talent as a player.”
After appearing in only four games as a pinch-hitter as a college freshman, Langford become a starting outfielder for Florida. He hit .355 while tying the school record with 26 homers as a sophomore in 2022, and this year hit .373 with 21 homers as the Gators advanced to the championship round of the College World Series.
“Obviously going through my freshman year, I really didn’t have any expectations. … I just want to play on the college stage first,” Langford said. “Probably about halfway through my sophomore year, when I was playing really well and people started talking and stuff like that, I kind of realized I have a shot.”
Langford’s introduction at Globe Life Field came on the same day that Pittsburgh came to terms with top overall pick Paul Skenes, a pitcher from LSU, on a record $9.2 million signing bonus.
Before Skenes and Langford, there had been only four bigger signing bonuses for drafted players. The record had been the $8.42 million Detroit gave infielder Spencer Torkelson after he was the first overall pick in 2000.
LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, the second overall pick by Washington on July 9, was unsigned. Prep outfielder Max Clark, the third overall pick by the Tigers, got a $7.7 million signing bonus, which was below the slot value for No. 3 and was the slotted number for the fourth pick.
“It’s all happened so fast and I feel like I was in the middle of my season just a few days ago,” Langford said. “It’s a little surreal right now.”
Langford’s college career ended in the College World Series, where he hit a 456-foot homer against Virginia that was the longest at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. He went 5-for-5 with a homer in Game 2 of the best-of-three championship series that Florida won, and also homered in the deciding game won by LSU.
“We put so much time and effort in scouting Wyatt, that’s like icing on the cake at the end,” Rangers scouting director Kip Fagg said. “Reality, probably our minds were made up before that. But it’s always good to see, and it makes you feel a little bitter that he’s out there performing on a big stage like the College World Series.”
Young said Langford will report to the team’s facility in Arizona with the rest of the Rangers draft class to go through the standard onboarding process before getting assigned to a team.
Langford is the fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference player the Rangers have taken with their first pick. He follows Vanderbilt pitchers Kumar Rocker (third overall in 2022, $5.2 million signing bonus) and Jack Leiter ( second overall in 2021, $7.9 million signing bonus ), and Mississippi State infielder Justin Foscue (14th overall in 2020).
Josh Jung, drafted eighth overall by the Rangers out of Texas Tech in 2019, made his big league debut in September. As a rookie this season, he was voted in as a starter for the American League squad in the All-Star game.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.