The Texas Rangers dealt the first major blow of the offseason, signing former New York Mets star pitcher Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract.
When healthy, deGrom is arguably the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.
The problem is that he hasn’t been able to pitch a full season since 2020.
He was limited to 92 innings in 2021 and 64.1 in 2022, with a wide array of physical issues ranging from his oblique, elbow, and shoulder.
But he has been lights out on the mound: he had a brilliant 1.08 ERA in 2021 and a 3.08 mark this past season, routinely touching 100 mph and showing a wipeout slider and changeup.
Mets fans probably didn’t expect to lose deGrom while having the wealthiest owner in baseball in Steven Cohen.
Baseball is full of surprises, however, and the Mets weren’t willing to go to five years knowing how often deGrom gets hurt at this point of his career.
He is also 34 years old.
The team wasn’t willing to extend the length of their commitment and ended up losing the ace to a very aggressive Rangers team that is clearly going all-in.
The Mets Said Goodbye To deGrom
That doesn’t mean deGrom isn’t appreciated in Queens.
To the contrary: everyone, from Cohen to GM Billy Eppler to fans, hold him in high esteem.
The organization prepared a touching farewell video to their outgoing star.
Thank you, Jake. pic.twitter.com/GyUszgFGuV
— New York Mets (@Mets) December 3, 2022
After all, deGrom was everything the Mets hoped for and more.
He posted a 2.52 ERA with them, and took home two National League Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019.
While the Rangers are slowly putting together a strong team that could challenge for a playoff spot, the Mets are now circling back to Carlos Rodon and Justin Verlander with the hope of landing at least one of them.
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