8:44 PM: Athletics’ Levi Weaver reports specific financial collapse (on Twitter) deGrom will make $30MM next season, followed by $40MM in 2024-25, $38MM in 2026 and $37MM in 2027. This option season does not come with any guaranteed money and the terms of the option remain undisclosed.
8:21 pm: The Rangers announced their signing Jacob deGrom for a five-year contract. That’s $185MM guaranteed, ESPN’s Jeff Basson reports (Twitter link) includes a full no-trade clause and a conditional option for the 2028 campaign that could total $222MM, according to Passan. deGrom is a VC Sports Group client.
“We are thrilled that Jacob deGrom has decided to become a Texas RangerGeneral Manager Chris Young said in a press release.Over the course of several seasons, Jacobs has been an outstanding Major League pitcher, and he provides a dominant performer at the top of our rotation. One of our primary goals this off-season is to strengthen our starting lineup, and we’re adding a great one.“
It’s the biggest move of the offseason to date and is Arlington’s latest massive free agent strike. The Rangers paid the trio more than half a billion dollars Corey Seager, Marcus Semien And John Gray Last winter. It is designed to lay the groundwork for a full-scale fight in 2023. The Rangers haven’t seen the strides they’d like from a win-loss perspective in 2022, largely due to Gray and a lackluster rotation behind him. Martin Perez. Texas has suggested it is ready to hit the top of the market to strengthen the biggest weak point on the roster. They’ve done so with a staggering five-year deal for the game’s best pitcher.
deGrom is one of the most talented arms of his generation. He fell in the ninth round of the 2010 draft and didn’t reach the majors until just shy of his 26th birthday in 2014, immediately establishing himself as one of the game’s best pitchers. DeGrom posted a 2.69 ERA in his first 22 starts to earn NL Rookie of the Year honors and begin a career as one of the league’s best hurlers.
The righty posted an ERA between 2.54 and 3.53 in each of the next three seasons, earning Cy Young support twice. Already a borderline ace, he took his game to new heights in 2018. DeGrom pitched 217 innings with an MLB-best 1.70 ERA to secure his first Cy Young. The Mets inked him to a $120.5MM extension after that season. He repeatedly played as the senior circuit’s best pitcher, earning a second Cy Young with a 2.43 ERA over 204 innings. He had another dominant season in the abbreviated 2020 campaign and went down in ’21 with one of the best first halves in history.
Through his first 15 starts that year, the four-time All-Star posted a measly 1.08 ERA while striking out an incredible 45.1% of opposing hitters. He’s been plagued by some minor health issues in the first few months, culminating on the injury list for an elbow strain during the All-Star break. While it wasn’t initially expected to lead to a lengthy layoff, deGrom could miss the rest of the season. That September, New York manager Sandy Alderson said deGrom was dealing with a low-grade tear in his UCL, an eyebrow-raising assertion considering right-hander Tommy John underwent surgery before his MLB debut. The pitcher denied it, calling his hamstring “feeling pretty good.”
After a full sabbatical, DeGrom was expected to return in 2022. Late in spring training, he felt some soreness between throws. His scapula was diagnosed with a stress reaction and resealed, and the injury cost him 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 that kind of redundancy, one might have expected the dechrome to show some signs of rust. Instead, he returned to his peak self and immediately dominated the opposition again. The Stetson product averaged 98.9 MPH on his fastball and 92.6 MPH on his cutter/slider. He struck out 42.7% of opponents against a 3.3% walk percentage. Opposing hitters swung and missed at 21.1% of his total pitches; No other starter with 50+ innings had a swinging strike rate above 17%. He struck out eight in six over innings during his only playoff start against San Diego.
He had a three-homer trip in Atlanta to close out his season, kicking deGrom’s ERA up to 3.08 in his brief season, but there’s no doubt he’s still capable of performing at a high level if healthy. No pitcher on the planet is as dominant as deGrom on a starting basis. He opted out of a final $32.5MM contract with the Mets at the end of the season.
As much as this signing could be for the Rangers, there’s certainly a lot at stake in this kind of commitment to a pitcher who’s missed significant chunks of the past two seasons with arm issues. Since the start of 2021, he has worked just 162 1/3 innings (including the playoffs). Although deGrom has no restrictions on a prorated season in 2020, he is expected to shoulder a full rotation workload despite throwing 224 1/3 innings. Cumulative innings in the last three years.
DeGrom turns 35 in June. There is no sign that he is on the verge of a performance regression. Texas’ commitment runs through his age-39 campaign, and if his form changes after his 30s, the deal could potentially go sideways. Now a former teammate Max Scherzer And fellow top free agent Justin Verlander They’ve proven that a pitcher’s peak is out of the question as he approaches 40. Neither Scherzer nor Verlander dealt with the injuries that plagued DeGrom in their mid-30s.
The $185MM guarantee is significantly higher than MLBTR’s three-year, $135MM projection at the start of the season. It’s the sixth-largest contract for a free agent pitcher in MLB history, trailing him. Gerrit Cole ($324MM), Stephen Strasburg ($245MM), David Price ($217MM), Scherzer ($210MM with the Nationals) and Zack Greinke ($206.5MM). The contract has an average annual value of $37MM, the second most of any contract in major league history. Scherzer’s only three-year contract with the Mets – worth more than $43.333MM per season.
A $30MM salary next year would bring Texas’ projected 2023 salary obligations to about $170MM. It would be an franchise-record for the Rangers, but there’s no indication the organization plans to cut costs anytime soon. Owner Ray Davies and Young each noted there is room for the club to be active on the open market, and there is still work to do to turn their 68-win roster into a contender in the tough AL West. Young and captain Bruce Bochy are each in their first full season at the helm and look to snap a six-year playoff drought.
DeGrom heads to the top of a rotation that brings back Gray and Perez, who accepted a qualifying offer. Bought by Rangers Jake Odorizzi from the Braves earlier in the season, and Dan Dunning A decent back-of-the-cycle arm. It’s possible from five, but the team’s rotation depth is still limited, and they could add another arm from outside the organization. The infield and catcher are in strong positions. Adolis Garcia He is the only outfielder guaranteed everyday reps, leaving two spots and the team figures to add at least one reliever.
The deal includes a $37MM luxury tax hit. Average annual values of a group’s commitments are relevant for competitive balance tax purposes. The DiGrom signing brings Texas around $192MM in CBT figures, per Roster Resource, putting them $40MM shy of the low $233MM cap.
Saying goodbye to one of the best pitchers in franchise history, the Mets need to quickly turn the page around. Even New York saw it Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker And Trevor Williams Hitting free agency. They are sure to add to the starting staff led by Scherzer Carlos Carrasco. Free agency offers a pair of aces in Verlander Carlos Rodan, and the big-spending Mets have previously been linked to both pitchers. Losing deGrom alone would add to their rush to bring in one of those two hurlers, and they would have to either retain or replace the free agent center fielder. Brandon Nimmo.
New York receives modest compensation for deGrom’s exit. The team offered him a qualifying offer early in the game, which he declined. As the team that paid the luxury tax in 2022, New York gets the least compensation: a pick after the fourth round of next year’s amateur draft. The Rangers did not pay luxury tax or receive revenue sharing this year. So they end up surrendering the second-highest pick in next year’s draft and losing $500K in international signing bonus space. If Sear and Siemian both declined the QO last winter — and if they sign another eligible free agent this offseason — they would be removed from the third-highest selection.
Image courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.
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