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The Texas Rangers are going for it all.
The Rangers signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom to a five-year deal, they announced Friday.
Multiple reports say the deal is worth $185 million and includes a sixth-year option.
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DeGrom signed a five-year deal with the New York Mets before the 2019 season, but there was an opt-out after three seasons, which he exercised.
The ace had been noncommittal about returning to New York for a while. The pitcher even said in spring training he would opt out, and Texas had always reportedly been an interest of his.
According to SNY, the Mets were told “deGrom was far down (the road) with the Rangers. Team isn’t sure what it would have offered if it had really come to a bidding war.”
“I wish him well. He has the right to choose his team. Now this team has to move on to the next thing,” Mets owner Steve Cohen told SNY.
The 34-year-old has been one of the game’s best pitchers since his MLB debut in 2014.
Since 2018, he’s pitched to a 2.05 ERA (147 earned runs in 645.1 innings), the best mark in all of baseball. His 0.87 WHIP is the second-lowest in the majors in that span behind only Justin Verlander, who the Mets have been in touch with after he won his third Cy Young Award. His 12.2 K/9 is also the second-best mark among starters since 2018 behind only Gerrit Cole.
Since 2014, deGrom’s 2.52 career ERA is the second-lowest among all starters, behind only Clayton Kershaw. In that span, he also ranks third in WHIP (1.00) and strikeouts (1,607).
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Since earned runs became a stat in 1913, deGrom is just one of three pitchers (Kershaw, Greg Maddux) to have an ERA of 1.95 or lower in any 100-start span, a feat he accomplished during the 2022 season. In the 2022 campaign, he also had his 40th straight start of allowing three or less earned runs, setting a new MLB record for most consecutive starts allowing no more than three earned runs since 1913.
DeGrom won two Cy Young Awards with the Mets (2018 and 2019) and had been in their organization since being selected in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He missed the majority of the last two seasons with lingering arm issues, but he still pitched to a 3.08 ERA. He was well on his way to his third Cy Young Award in four seasons — and one of the best seasons the game has seen — in 2021, when he was pitching to a 1.08 ERA. However, he felt tightness during a bullpen session and did not pitch again until Aug. 2 of this year.
DeGrom, along with his pair of Cy Young Awards, is a four-time All-Star and was the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year.
Mets pitchers Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker are also free agents. The Mets did re-sign Edwin Diaz to a five-year deal worth $102 million, but a once-stout rotation is all of a sudden very thin.
However, it should surprise nobody if, and when, Cohen breaks the bank on the market.
That’s something the Rangers have done the past two offseasons. Last year, they signed Corey Seager to a 10-year deal worth $325 million, and they also added Marcus Semien on a $175 million deal over seven seasons.
The Rangers ended the 2022 season 68-94, finishing under .500 a sixth straight season. In the last four 162-game seasons, they have won more than 70 games just once. That’s probably why they brought in Bruce Bochy to manage the club on a three-year deal earlier this offseason.
The Rangers will visit the Mets at Citi Field from Aug. 28-30 next season.
