Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Texas Rangers have contacted the agents for free agent pitchers Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, and Kodai Senga. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported late on Wednesday night that deGrom had let the Rangers know he is interested in them.
Players can officially sign with new teams starting at 5:00 p.m. ET tonight at the same time that the options and qualifying offer deadline.
It’s been widely speculated since the Mets season ended that the Rangers were going to be in the market for deGrom as they looked to add pitching after spending big money on middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last offseason. DeGrom officially opted out of his deal with the Mets earlier this week and will receive the qualifying offer from them today.
DeGrom, 34, made his 2022 season debut on August 2 and proceeded to dominate with a 1.66 ERA and 63 strikeouts compared to only four walks in his first seven starts of the season. The Florida native’s overall numbers for the year in 11 starts were a 3.08 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 0.75 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings.
Despite deGrom having pitched only 156 innings over the past two seasons, he’s clearly still one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball and could command a contract similar to the one Max Scherzer got from the Mets last year of three years, $130 million. Where that type of contract comes from remains to be seen, but there’s certainly going to be heavy interest all over the league in the Mets ace.
The Mets have starters Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, and deGrom set to hit free agency and haven’t yet made a decision on Carlos Carrasco’s $14 million option for the 2023 season.
Losing deGrom would be a big blow to the Mets rotation that currently has Max Scherzer, David Peterson, and Tylor Megill as the only definites for next season.
