Rangers, Jacob deGrom agree to 5-year, $185M deal

Two-time Cy Young Champion Jacob deGrom He has agreed to a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers, sources told ESPN.

The Rangers announced the deal on Friday night, but did not disclose terms.

DeGrom, 34, who spent all nine seasons of his major league career with the New York Mets, opted out of the final two years of his contract in 2022 despite pitching just 64⅓ innings. He had a stress reaction in his shoulder during the season and an injury limited him to 224⅓ innings over the last three seasons.

Texas ignored these issues and turned to deGrom’s potential to become a game-changer within the organization. He has an industry-wide push for a shorter-term contract in his five-year package, which includes an option for his sixth year that brings the total value of the deal to his $222 million, sources said. I shattered my expectations.

The signing came just a year after the Rangers put in a generous supply of shortstops. corey seager Sign second baseman to 10-year, $325 million deal Marcus Semien $175 million over seven years.together John Gray4-year, $56 million deal, the Rangers spent the most money in the 2021-22 offseason.

Earning deGrom in the biggest deal of the 2022-23 offseason so far continues the spending. The deal does not include any deferred money and gives deGrom a complete no-deal clause, the sources said. Between that and Texas’ lack of state taxes, competing teams would have had to cross the $40 million annual threshold and extend the length of their offers to compete with the Rangers.

At deGrom, the Rangers secured a right-hander with the best pitch among the starters. A 100-plus mph fastball thrown with exquisite command, a hard-biting slider that sits in the early to mid-’90s, his changeup. Curveball, an elite pitch for others, serves as a complement to deGrom’s fastball-slider duo.

DeGrom finished the 2022 season with a 5-4 record and a 3.08 starting pitcher ERA in 11 innings, but his peripherals showed his dominance better.

It’s like he’s shown over the past four seasons, winning both the Cy Youngs and elevating himself from a former ninth-round pick at Stetson University, who played shortstop, to the least beaten. continued to perform. world pitcher.

He made his Mets debut a month before he turned 26, alongside Matt Harvey. Noah Syndergaard, Zach Wheeler When Stephen Matz Also, among the Mets’ young starters, deGrom was not seen as a future star.

By the end of his first season, expectations rose when he posted a 2.69 ERA in 140⅓ innings. DeGrom was named to the National League All-Star Team in his second season, and in his fourth year he received the Young vote, before breaking out in 2018 at the age of 30. He posted 10 homers and a 1.70 ERA en route to his first Cy Young.

He won back-to-back awards in 2019 with a 2.43 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 204 innings. That spring, he signed a five-year contract extension that included his post-season opt-out for 2022.

After pitching 68 innings in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, deGrom peaked in 2021, posting a 1.08 ERA in 15 starts and 146 strikeouts and 11 walks in 92 innings. . However, he missed more than half the season and the first half of the 2022 season with problems with his arm, leaving some wondering whether to forgo the last two years of his contract.

He did – and for good reason. Markets for deGrom have been strong despite concerns about his age and health. A year ago, the Mets signed a future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer Despite being 37 years old, he signed a three-year, $130 million deal.

DeGrom didn’t match Scherzer’s median salary, but his $37 million a year beats the previous No. 2 New York Yankees ace. Gerrit Coleand with no deferrals and taxes, it’s closer to Scherzer’s number than it is to the gap on paper.

The Rangers’ willingness to reach that level has taken the industry by surprise. It was clear that Texas, which ranked 25th out of 30 teams with a 4.63 starting ERA this year, was planning to pursue pitching, but giving deGrom a fifth season was one of the best on the market. They indicated their intention to acquire a pitcher.

deGrom, Gray and Martin Perez When Jake Odrizziwith young big leaguers Dane Dunning When Glenn Otto Kumar Rocker, Jack Reiter, owen whitethe Rangers are suddenly in a much better position.

Competing in the American League West is not easy. At the top of the division is defending World Series his champion Houston, who signed first baseman. Jose Abreu and reliever Rafael Monteroand behind the Astros this season is the wildcard-winning Seattle Mariners with an added outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and second baseman Corten Wong in a transaction.