The Rangers announced on Friday that Jacob deGrom has signed a five-year, $185 million contract to become the Texas ace. A two-time Cy Young winner, deGrom is one of this winter’s most coveted free agents.
“We are thrilled that Jacob deGrom has decided to become a Texas Ranger,” Chris Young, Rangers executive VP and general manager, said in a statement.
Young welcomed the deGrom family to the Rangers organization and said his signing addresses one of the team’s biggest obstacles last season: starting pitching.
“We are adding one of the best,” Young said. “I also want to recognize our ownership group, led by Ray Davis, for continuing to provide the resources to build a winning culture here in Arlington.”
The Rangers did not mention the money attached to the contract, but ESPN reported the deal was for five years and $185 million. Next week, after the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego, there will be a press conference to introduce deGrom at Globe Life Field, according to the team.
Last season, Texas had the fourth-worst team ERA (4.23) in the American League as the Rangers posted a 68-94 record. World Series winner Houston had the league’s best record (106-56) and team ERA (2.90).
The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, deGrom was the last pitcher to win the National League Cy Young Award twice, in 2018 and 2019. He is one of only three pitchers in baseball history to win both the Rookie of the Year Award and multiple Cy Young Awards (Justin Verlander and Tom Seaver are the other two).
He was an All-Star in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021. For his first three years, he played in the Midsummer Classic.
In 2022, 34-year-old deGrom started 11 games, pitching 64.1 innings for the Mets; he went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA. He couldn’t work for four months because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.
As of August 2, deGrom led Major League Baseball in strikeouts (102), strikeout rate (42.7%), and opponent on-base percentage (.202).
Since 2020, his ERA, opponents’ batting average, WHIP, strikeouts per nine innings, and walks per nine innings are all the best in MLB for pitchers with at least 200 innings thrown, the Rangers reported.
Picked in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft, deGrom has spent his career with the Mets. He was one of the team’s all-time leaders in strikeouts (4th with 1,607), starts (7th with 209), wins (tie for 7th with 82), and innings pitched (8th with 1326.0).
DeGrom will join Martín Pérez, lefty starter and the team’s 2022 Pitcher of the Year, after Perez accepted a qualifying offer to return to Texas for the 2023 season, The Dallas Express reported.
Perez and deGrom will be led by the Rangers’ new pitching coach, Mike Maddux, whose hiring Texas announced last week.
“There’s a couple of real frontline pitchers,” Maddux told MLB.com ahead of the deGrom signing. “Martín had a really good year, [Jon] Gray’s got a lot of promise, and they’ve got some young prospects on the way. So, I think it’s a healthy organization right now.”
