An interesting detail has emerged regarding Jacob deGrom’s contract with the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers announced on Tuesday that deGrom will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. The surgery will also keep the ace out for a good part of the 2024 season.
DeGrom signed a 5-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers in free agency. Texas took a chance on him despite knowing his history because they were desperate for pitching help. And they took an even bigger risk than many people realized.
In response to the news of deGrom’s surgery, we learned that the Rangers did not purchase insurance on the pitcher’s contract. According to an article published by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal last month, the Rangers chose not to pay for insurance on deGrom’s deal because the cost would have been “prohibitively expensive.”
What does that mean? Rather than be able recoup some expenses had they insured the contract, the Rangers will just have to eat all the money they owe deGrom for 2023 and 2024 regardless of how much time he misses due to injury.
DeGrom is owed $30 million this year and $40 million next year.
The one benefit the Rangers have as a result of deGrom’s injury is that due to contract stipulations, they now will have an option for the pitcher in 2028. The 2028 team option could be worth either $37 million, $30 million or $20 million depending on a few factors related to the pitcher’s performance. Had deGrom not suffered a major injury/missed significant time during his contract, the team would not have had a 2028 option for the pitcher.
