The Best Pitcher in Baseball is Now a Texas Ranger

Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher I have ever seen throw a baseball. He’s the best pitcher to ever wear a New York Mets jersey. He has two Cy Young awards on his mantle. Your favorite batters have closed their eyes and swung right through deGrom’s slider.

Wherever he signs in free agency matters.

What happened?

OFFICIAL: We’ve signed RHP Jacob deGrom to a 5-year contract. pic.twitter.com/GXHFaOa6m9

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) December 3, 2022

The Texas Rangers have signed Jacob deGrom to a 5-year $185 million contract.

Why is this important?

When Steve Cohen purchased the Mets in 2020, it came with the promise that he’d pay any amount of money to get the best players on the roster. One would imagine, that includes re-signing the best pitcher on the planet.

Pro-Mets people will tell you that it wouldn’t be smart to give deGrom that much money because he’s 34 and has had a tough injury history but again, if you promote yourself as the biggest spender then it wouldn’t matter how much he costs or how old he is. You get the best players in your building and go from there.

As far as the Rangers go, uh, shrug. Last offseason, the Rangers spent $556 million on 3 players—Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray. The team won 68 games. There’s something about putting on that Rangers jersey that brings out the worst in players. We’re about to see deGrom end up with like, a 5.00 ERA.

This is a rare signing where everyone involved—except for deGrom who is now making $185 milly tax-free—are all losers.