Jacob deGrom signs five-year contract with Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have signed former New York Mets ace and two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, the team announced Friday.

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According to multiple reports, the contract is worth $185 million with a sixth-year option that would up its total value to $222 million if exercised, according to multiple reports. The signing comes a year after the Rangers committed over $500 million to infielders Marcus Semien and Corey Seager in free agency last season.

Texas finished 68-94 and in fourth place in the American League West this past year.

The Rangers hired Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion manager with the San Francisco Giants, to replace fired manager Chris Woodward in October.

FOX Sports MLB writer Jordan Shusterman wrote this about deGrom while ranking him seventh among this winter's free agents:

deGrom, who, when healthy, is one of the greatest pitchers the game has ever seen, full-stop. That fact will earn him plenty of deserved attention and eager suitors, and it's why he was more than comfortable opting out of a contract that would have guaranteed him $32.5M in 2023 despite only making 12 starts this season including the playoffs. He's just that good. But again, gambling big-time on arms who throw this hard for this long who have had repeated issues pop up is an undeniably large risk. That's a risk, however, that a lot of teams with World Series aspirations should be willing to take.

FOX Sports MLB writer Deesha Thosar also wrote about deGrom, who has spent 12 years with the Mets:

For any team that signs deGrom, front executives know that a two-time Cy Young award winner with a 2.52 career ERA greatly increases their organization's chances of lifting a World Series trophy. Some teams may be willing to ignore the injury and age risks. Will the Mets be one of them?
"We'll do whatever we can to make sure he stays," Cohen said in August. "But it's his decision, not ours."

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