As soon as the free agency period opened this year, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said his team would once again play for the top tier of free agents.

Game on.

According to three major league sources, Daniels headed a contingent of Rangers officials who met face-to-face with free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon and his representative Scott Boras in Houston on Sunday. While no contract offer was made, according to the sources, the Rangers were there to make a presentation indicating their interest in the top position player on the free agent market.

Daniels doesn’t comment on free agents. Boras could not be reached for comment Monday.

Daniels is also believed to have met with free agent pitcher Zack Wheeler recently. There is a growing sense in the industry that Wheeler will agree with a team before the winter meetings begin in San Diego. Wheeler is being heavily pursued and is likely to get a deal of at least five years, but if he makes a quick decision, it will either allow the Rangers to wipe starting pitching off their priority list and focus on Rendon or allow them to move on to their next pitching target rather than face a protracted negotiating process.

Either way, it appears the Rangers are willing to spend big this winter. Rendon has already reportedly received a seven-year deal in excess of $200 million to return to the Washington Nationals. Wheeler is likely to push $20 million a year on his contract. The Rangers have already agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with pitcher Kyle Gibson, pending a physical.

And on Monday, they committed to contracts for six arbitration-eligible players that are likely to result in at least $10 million more in salary increases. Still, that’s a relative bargain for the quintet of Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields, Danny Santana and Rafael Montero. Gallo, who is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, is likely to see his salary go from $600,000 to approximately $4 million, according to projections from MLB Trade Rumors. The arbitration process would not play out until mid-January and would not preclude the Rangers from working on a longer-term deal, if they so choose.

In addition, the Rangers added a pair of relievers to the 40-man roster and designated lefty Jeffrey Springs for assignment. Right-hander Nick Goody, claimed from Cleveland last week, informed the Rangers he would accept his waiver claim. Since he was claimed from release waivers, he had the ability to reject the claim and take free agency. Goody later agreed to a one-year, $915,000 contract.

The Rangers also claimed right-hander Jimmy Herget from Cincinnati. Herget, 26, had been designated for assignment by the Reds last week after they acquired right-hander Justin Shafer in a cash deal with Toronto. Herget made his major league debut last year, pitching 6.1 innings in five relief appearances. He allowed eight hits, three walks and three runs. He did not strike anybody out.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Herget, the Rangers designated Springs for assignment. Springs, 27, had 43 appearances for the Rangers over the last two seasons. He missed three months in 2019 with a biceps issue.

At the deadline for tendering contracts to players on the 40-man roster Monday evening, the Rangers declined to offer major league deals to pitchers Ian Gibaut, acquired from Tampa Bay last summer, and Wei-Chieh Huang, acquired from Arizona in the 2018 trade deadline deal for Jake Diekman.