Jacob deGrom landed in Arlington on Thursday, one day after the Rangers added stablemate Andrew Heaney to first-year skipper Bruce Bochy’s Texas pitching rotation.
The Rangers announced deGrom had signed a five-year, $185 million contract to become the Texas ace last week, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The two-time Cy Young winner was one of this winter’s most coveted free agents.
At the Globe Life press conference on Thursday, deGrom, 34, pointed to recent Ranger acquisitions of late, which bolster his hopes of hoisting championship hardware in Arlington.
“They’re signing great guys, great players, and it’s going to be an exciting team, you know?” deGrom said.
Bochy is also excited about the roster being built in Texas but said winning is almost hopeless without five solid starting pitchers.
“To win in our game, you need pitching,” he said. “So that was our priority, and we couldn’t have a better guy to head up this rotation. And I think when you look at the end of the day at our rotation, we’re going to have a chance to win every day.”
The Rangers have agreed to ink Heaney this week to address the manager’s concerns. CBS Sports reported that the 31-year-old lefty starter’s contract is for two years and $25 million and could reach nearly $40 million based on performance.
“We’ve talked about, for a long time, that we are committed to building a World Championship organization,” GM Chris Young said at the press conference. “And today’s announcement is a big step towards that goal.”
The former Oklahoma State Cowboy has a career record of 36-42 scattered over 11 years in the majors. Last season, Heaney posted an ERA of 3.10 for the Dodgers but has not had more than 18 starts since 2021, when he was 8-9 in 23 starts.
Heaney can also opt out of the contract after the 2023 season.
Last winter, the Rangers announced the signing of Corey Bellinger, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray. Each was among the top free agents on the market in the 2021 offseason, and each came with hefty price tags, according to The Dallas Express ( ten years for $325 million, ten years for $175 million, and four years for $56 million, respectively).
The upgrades to the franchise in 2021 followed the Rangers’ worst record in franchise history at 60-102.
The free agents helped Texas improve by just eight games after the 2022 season. Bellinger had a career year offensively, and Siemen was a sparkplug in the leadoff position of the batting order. Gray made 24 starts and posted a record of 7-7 but missed innings because of injuries throughout the season.
With deGrom and Heaney joining Martin Perez — team pitcher of the 2022 season — Dane Dunning and Glenn Otto might be that starting five Bochy wants on his staff.
DeGrom is pumped, anyway.
“That’s the goal, winning a World Series,” deGrom said. “These guys all had that same vision, and it lined up with what I wanted to do. They showed a ton of interest right from the start, and the feelings were mutual. I’m just very happy to be here.”
