The Texas Rangers announced that they have come to an agreement with free agent right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom. The deal will be five years and will be worth $185 million.
The Texas Rangers just signed the best pitcher in all of baseball to lead their staff into championship contention. deGrom is a two-time Cy Young award winner with the New York Mets and has the third lowest ERA in the expansion era with a minimum of 200 starts (2.52).
Rangers GM Chris Young said “Over a number of seasons, Jacob has been a standout Major League pitcher and he gives us a dominant performer at the top of our rotation. On behalf of the entire organization, I welcome Jacob, his wife Stacey, and the entire deGrom family to the Rangers.
A five-year deal for a pitcher with health issues is certainly a risk but when Jacob deGrom is on the mound, I don’t think there is any doubt that he is the best pitcher in baseball.
The AAV of this deal is $37M per year, which is less than I anticipated this deal would be. That is certainly a good sign for the Rangers as they pursue other names in the pitching market.
As of now, I’d assume that the Rangers’ rotation would be as follows
Jacob deGrom
Jon Gray
Martin Perez
Jake Odorizzi
Dane Dunning/Glenn Otto
Many people were questioning when the Rangers were going to make their moves and the answer is now. Chris Young just signed the best pitcher in all of baseball.