It's confirmed. Jacob deGrom is not heading back to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers have signed the ace to a massive five-year, $185 million deal.
“BREAKING: Right-hander Jacob deGrom has signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN. Physical is passed. Deal is done. Includes conditional sixth-year option that would take total deal to $222 million. Full no-trade clause. A massive haul,” Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.
No trade clause. Wow. deGrom is a Ranger for the next five seasons and likely until the end of his career. Of course, the Rangers spent a boatload of money last offseason on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, but both guys failed to perform at a high level. The real issue with this franchise however is their pitching staff and now, they get a true ace and one of the best arms in the sport.
DeGrom missed a lot of last season due to injury but in his 11 starts, he was solid. The hard-throwing right-hander went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 64.1 innings, striking out 102 hitters in the process. All deGrom has known is the Mets after they took him in the ninth round in 2010, ultimately making his big league debut four years later.
There is no question New York will miss him, but the Rangers will surely be excited about landing a true superstar who can instantly be their No. 1 arm. With Jon Gray and Martin Perez coming off respectable campaigns, Texas possesses a rather decent trio at the top end of the rotation. More importantly, Jacob deGrom is around for the long haul. He's not going anywhere.
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