The biggest splash of the Major League Baseball offseason so far belongs to the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers reportedly inked one of the top pitchers on the open market Friday night by signing Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract with an option for a sixth year that could take the deal to $222 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. deGrom also has a full no-trade clause in the deal, per Passan.
The ultra-talented right-handed starting pitcher spent the first nine years of his big-league career with the Mets. While deGrom enjoyed an illustrious tenure with New York, including winning the Cy Young Award twice and being named a National League All-Star on four occasions, it was also at times marred by his inability to stay healthy.
The 34-year-old deGrom has pitched more than 200 innings only three times in his career, and the last time he did so was in 2019. This past season, deGrom made just 11 starts as he missed the first four months due to a stress reaction in his shoulder. He compiled a 5-4 record with a 3.08 ERA to go along with 102 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings pitched. That’s coming off a 2021 campaign in which deGrom recorded only 15 starts.
The Rangers certainly are banking on deGrom staying healthy given how many years they ended up handing him. It’s the second straight offseason Texas has made a big move by bringing in a free agent. Last season, the Rangers signed Corey Seager to a gargantuan 10-year, $325 million deal along with inking Marcus Semien to a seven-year, $175 million contract.
Now, Texas has another massive contract on its books.
