Rangers sign Jacob DeGrom to a five-year contract

The Rangers announced that they had signed Jacob DeGrum for a five-year deal. It’s a $185 million surety, ESPN’s Jeff Bassan reports (Twitter link). The deal includes a full no-trade clause and a conditional option for the 2028 campaign that could be worth a total of $222 million, according to Passan.

“We are glad Jacob deGrom decided to become a Texas RangerGeneral Manager Chris Young said in a press release. “Over a number of seasons, Jacob has been a standout in the American League, giving us dominant performances at the top of our rotation. One of our primary goals this off-season is to boost starting, and we add one of the best goals.“

It’s the biggest move of the season so far and the latest huge free agent strike from Arlington. The Rangers have committed more than half a billion dollars to the trio Corey SeegerAnd the Marcus Semin And the John Gray last winter. This is designed to lay the groundwork for a full return to competition in 2023. Rangers have yet to see their desired steps forward from a win-loss perspective in 2022, largely due to a lackluster rotation behind Gray and Martin Perez. Texas has indicated that it is ready to attack the top of the market to fortify the biggest weakness on the list. They did it with a shocking five-year deal for the sport’s Most Valuable Player.

DeGrom is one of the most accomplished armies of his generation. While he fell in the ninth round of the 2010 draft and didn’t make it to the majors until after he celebrated his 26th birthday in 2014, he instantly solidified himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. DeGrom worked to a 2.69 ERA in his first 22 starts to secure the NL Rookie of the Year award and start his career as one of the league’s best pitchers.

Right posted an ERA between 2.54 and 3.53 in each of the next three seasons, twice receiving MVP support in the bottom ballot. Already a borderline hitter, he took his game to new heights in 2018. DeGrom pitched 217 innings with an MLB-best 1.70 ERA to secure his first Young Cy. The Mets signed him with a 120.5 mm extension after that season. He followed that up by repeating as the Senior Circuit’s leading pitcher, claiming second Cy Young with a 2.43 mark over 204 innings pitched. He had another dominant season in the shortened 2020 campaign, going down to one of the greatest first half runs in history in 2,121.

Through his first 15 starts that year, the four-time All-Star posted a microscopic 1.08 ERA while striking out 45.1% from opposing hitters. He was bothered by some minor health issues during the first few months, and that culminated in the injured list for forearm tightness around the All-Star break. While this was not initially expected to result in a prolonged absence, DeGroom would end up missing the remainder of the season. That September, New York City Chief Sandy Alderson said DeGrum was dealing with a low-grade tear in his UCL, a surprising assertion considering the right-hander had undergone Tommy John surgery before making his MLB debut. The pitcher refuted this, describing his bond as “completely fine”.

After a full rest, DeGrom was expected to return in 2022. Late in spring training, he felt some soreness during the throwing program between starts. He was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his shoulder blade and his back locked up again, and the injury ended up plaguing him for the first four months of last season. By the time he returned to the mound in early August, more than a full calendar year had passed.

With this kind of layoff, one would probably expect DeGrom to show some signs of rust. Instead, he returned as his peak slash, instantly dominating opponents once more. The Stetson product averaged an absurd 98.9 mph on the fastball and 92.6 mph on the cutter/slider that is its secondary offering. He struck out 42.7% of opponents for a meager 3.3% walk percentage. Opposing hitters swung and lost 21.1% of his total runs. No other pitcher with more than 50 innings pitched had a swing strike rate higher than 17%. He struck out eight in six innings during the only start against San Diego.

A three-run outing in Atlanta to end his season pushed DeGrom’s ERA to 3.08 in his shortened season, but there’s no question he can still perform at his peak form if he’s healthy. No pitcher on the planet is as dominant as DeGrom on a per-start basis.

As high as this signing could be for the Rangers, there’s definitely a lot of risk in that kind of commitment for a pitcher who’s lost large portions of the past two seasons to arm problems. He’s worked out just 162 1/3 innings (including the playoffs) since the start of 2021. While DeGrom didn’t have a pro-season domination in 2020, he’s still expected to handle a full rotation workload despite throwing 224 1/2 Only 3 cumulative roles over the past three years.

DeGrum turns 35 in June. There is no indication that it is about to have any decline in performance. The Texans’ commitment during DeGrom’s campaign spans the age of 39, and there’s certainly potential for the deal to go awry if his form fades later in his 30s. Now a former classmate Max Scherzer And fellow best free agent Justin Verlander Show that it is not a question for a pitcher to remain at his peak form as he approaches the age of 40. Neither Scherzer nor Verlander dealt with the kind of injuries in their mid-30s that plague Degrom, though.

More is coming.