The first huge domino of free agency has fallen, as Jacob DeGrom has signed with the… Texas Rangers? What?
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the 34-year-old has signed a five-year, $185,000,000 contract with the Toronto Blue Jays son.
This sets a trend of the Rangers committing serious money to free agents, as they signed Corey Seager to a 10-year, $325,000,000 contract and Marcus Semien to a $175,000,000 contract over seven seasons before the 2022 season.
Last season, DeGrom finished with a 3.08 ERA and 2.13 FIP in 64.1 innings pitched. He also amassed an insane 42.7 K% and an incredibly low 3.3 BB%. However, injuries have been a concern for our generation’s best pitcher, as he’s been limited to only 26 starts the past two seasons. Usually, a starter appears in around 32 games if fully healthy.
He’s also on the wrong side of 30, so they’ll always be a concern there. However, teams have been committing serious money to older pitchers still performing excellently.. For example, the Mets signed Max Scherzer to a 3-year, $130,000,000 contract before the 2022 season when he was 37 years old.
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Furthermore, reigning American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander is looking for a big payday, like Max Scherzer’s the season prior. Verlander will be 40 years old before the season starts.
What about the rest of the Texas Rangers pitching staff? Well uh, it’s not great honestly. Martín Pérez had a great season in 2022, finishing with a 2.89 ERA and 3.27 FIP in 196.1 innings pitched. The Rangers offered him a compensation pick, which he promptly accepted as he has a career 4.43 ERA and 4.35 FIP in 1300 innings pitched.
Jon Gray is their other notable pitcher, and he signed a four-year, $56,000,000 contract before the 2022 season. His first season away from Coors Field was one of his best, finishing with a 3.96 ERA and 3.80 FIP in 127.1 innings pitched.
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Jays Twitter memester Nae Nae Takes sums it up best.
Honestly, I just hope DeGrom gets some run support in Texas.

What this means for the Jays:

This signing means the Mets will have some available cash to spend in free agency. While they may sign a replacement pitcher like Carlos Rodón, it does free up some payroll to re-sign Brandon Nimmo, the second-best centre fielder on the market.
Does the DeGrom signing affect the Jays massively? More than likely not, considering that the Mets are likely to sign a pitcher with that money. However, with DeGrom heading to the American League, as well as the Mets payroll being able to afford Brandon Nimmo, there’s a chance.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.

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