Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers tonight announced that the club has agreed to terms with free agent right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom on a five-year contract covering the 2023-27 seasons. deGrom completed a physical exam on Friday.
No financial terms were disclosed. A press conference to introduce deGrom will be held at Globe Life Field next week following the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.
“We are thrilled that Jacob deGrom has decided to become a Texas Ranger,” said Rangers Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Young. “Over a number of seasons, Jacob has been a standout Major League pitcher, and he gives us a dominant performer at the top of our rotation. One of our primary goals this off-season is to strengthen our starting pitching, and we are adding one of the best. I also want to recognize our ownership group, led by Ray Davis, for continuing to provide the resources to build a winning culture here in Arlington. On behalf of the entire organization, I welcome Jacob, his wife Stacey, and the entire deGrom family to the Rangers.”
deGrom, 34, went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA (22 ER/64.1 IP) over 11 games/starts for the Mets in 2022, returning to the mound in early August. He missed the season’s first four months with a stress reaction on his right scapula. Beginning with his first start of the year on August 2, deGrom led MLB for the rest of the season in strikeouts (102), strikeout rate (42.7%), opponent OBP (.202), and WHIP (0.75). His ranks among MLB pitchers over the last 3 seasons since the beginning of 2020 (min. 200.0 IP): ERA (1st, 2.05), opp. BA (1st, .160), WHIP (1st, 0.73), strikeouts per 9 innings (1st, 14.12), and walks per 9 innings (1st, 1.48).
He has averaged 10.91 strikeouts per 9 innings in his MLB career with the Mets from 2014-22, the 2nd-best figure in Major League history among pitchers with at least 1300.0 innings (11.07 SO/9 by Chris Sale). He has 1607 career strikeouts, the most in MLB history by any pitcher through his first 209 outings in the big leagues. Since swing and miss statistics were first tracked in 1988, deGrom’s career 31.0% swing-and-miss strike pct. is the highest by any MLB pitcher with at least 1,000.0 IP.
He has struck out 1607 of 5217 (30.8%) batters faced in his career, the highest lifetime strikeout percentage by any pitcher in MLB history (min. 1,000.0 IP). He owns 3 of the 5 best strikeout per batter faced rates in MLB history by a pitcher with 10+ starts in a season: 45.1% in 2021, 42.7% in 2022, and 38.8% in 2020.
deGrom was the National League Cy Young Award winner in both 2018 and 2019, the most recent pitcher to take honors in back-to-back years. He was also the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 2014, one of just 3 pitchers in baseball history to win multiple Cy Young Awards and a Rookie of the Year Award (also Justin Verlander and Tom Seaver). He is a four-time All-Star (2015, 2018, 2019, 2021), appearing in the Midsummer Classic in each of the first 3 years he was selected.
The Deland, Florida native has registered 154 quality starts in his first 209 career outings (73.7%) and has allowed one-or-zero runs in 101 of his 209 starts (48.3%). The 101 such starts are the most in MLB history through a player’s first 209 career games. His career 0.998 WHIP figure is the lowest among active qualifiers and 2nd-lowest in MLB history among pitchers with at least 1,000.0 IP to only Hall of Famer Addie Joss (0.968), who pitched for Cleveland from 1902-10.
He has spent his entire career with the Mets since being selected in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft, ranking among all-time team leaders in strikeouts (4th, 1607), starts (7th, 209), wins (T7th, 82), and innings (8th, 1326.0).
deGrom has made 5 career postseason starts, going 4-1 with a 2.90 ERA (10 ER/31.0 IP) for the Mets in 2015 and 2022, posting quality starts in 4 of 5 outings. He recorded the lone postseason win for the Mets last season, as he registered a quality start in National League Wild Card Game 2 vs. San Diego (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR).
LOWEST ERA’S IN EXPANSION ERA (SINCE 1961 – MINIMUM 200 STARTS)
ERA Pitcher
2.19 Sandy Koufax*
2.48 Clayton Kershaw
2.52 Jacob deGrom
2.80 Whitey Ford*
2.83 Don Drysdale*
2.84 Bob Gibson*
2.856 Jim Palmer*
2.861 Andy Messersmith
2.862 Tom Seaver*
2.89 Juan Marichal*
*-Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee
