Jacob deGrom signs $185 million contract with surprising AL team

Jacob deGrom has signed with a new team.

The Texas Rangers spent big on position players last offseason. This offseason, they are making a big splash with their pitching.

Texas signed deGrom to a 5-year, $185 million contract. That breaks down to an average annual amount of $37 million per season.

DeGrom was drafted by the New York Mets and spent his entire career with them. He was said to be considering the Braves and Rangers if he didn’t return to the Mets.

Though the Rangers had been linked to deGrom, the signing is still a surprise.

Texas went 68-94 last season and has had six straight losing seasons. They have a new ballpark though and are looking to get back to the days of their strong run from 2010-2016 when they made the playoffs five of seven seasons, including consecutive World Series appearances.

DeGrom has only made 26 starts over the past two seasons while dealing with injury issues. The 34-year-old won the NL Cy Young Award in 2018 and 2019. He posted a 1.08 ERA over 15 starts in 2021 and went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA last season.

Given his injury issues and age, the Rangers are making a steep long-term commitment to deGrom. But they felt the contract was necessary in order to begin turning things around.