Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom will remain with the team after declining to waive his no-trade clause, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The veteran has full no-trade protection and would’ve had to sign off on any deal. Rosenthal adds that Texas is also asking shortstop Corey Seager and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi about waiving their no-trade clauses.
Reports emerged today that the Rangers were open to moving anyone on the team. They’re known to have discussed Eovaldi and lefties MacKenzie Gore and Jacob Latz. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported this afternoon that Texas was leaning against selling. The club’s major trade chips having varying degrees of no-trade protection could be playing a role there. Texas did swing a minor trade with the Blue Jays for reliever Adam Macko.
deGrom has one season remaining on the five-year, $185MM deal he inked with Texas heading into the 2023 campaign. He’s making $38MM this season and will be paid $37MM next year. An acquiring team would be on the hook for a little less than $50MM for the duration of the contract. The money remaining on the deal for a 38-year-old pitcher with an extensive injury history complicates a potential trade. It seems like the Rangers had found a buyer, but deGrom preferred to remain in Texas.
After making just nine starts in his first two seasons with the club, deGrom has been a workhorse over the past two years. He put together 30 starts of a sub-3.00 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning last season. His strikeout rate has ticked up this season, but he’s taken a step back in terms of run prevention. A clunker over the weekend against the Astros pushed his ERA to 3.96 for the year.
While deGrom hasn’t been on the IL this year, he missed his final start before the All-Star break with a glute injury. He looked uncomfortable at times during his outing in Houston and was ultimately pulled in the fourth inning, though no flare-up of the injury was reported. deGrom had a season-high five walks in the game.
More to come…
