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Jacob deGrom bought into Rangers 'vision' to build sustained winner

Jacob deGrom took center stage at Globe Life Field on Thursday afternoon as he was introduced as the Rangers' new ace.

deGrom, who spent his entire nine-year career with the Mets, spurned his former organization, a club with a legitimate chance to contend for a World Series this season, for a club that only won 68 games in 2022. But the right-hander wasn't turned off by the Rangers' performance last season and believes he'll be competing for championships in Texas.


"Hearing the vision of what the Rangers want to do…bringing a World Series here, that's the goal," deGrom said at his introductory press conference on Thursday. "These guys all have that same vision and it lines up with the vision of what I want to do."

DeGrom's Mets won 101 games last season and are now armed with the richest owner in baseball, but Rangers ownership committed half a billion dollars to the likes of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager last winter, and have now spent $185 million to bring in deGrom, convincing the ace that Texas was the place to be for the next five years.

"That definitely played a big role. They're signing great guys and great players, and it's gonna be an exciting team," deGrom said. "It seems to be an awesome group, and I can't wait to get things going.

"It was the vision of building something special and winning for a long time. I want to play this game a long time, and I want to win…everything lined up, and this is where I wanted to be. It was exciting. We kept in constant communication, showing tremendous interest from both sides, it felt like it was the right fit. That's how it worked out."

When healthy, deGrom, a former two-time NL Cy Young winner, is one of the best pitchers in baseball. But after throwing just 156.1 innings over the last two seasons, his health is a major question mark. But the 34 year old says he's ready to compete every fifth day.

"Just learning from things in the past. The staff here that the Rangers have - I'm looking forward to learning from these guys and figure out the best way to go about things. I believe I can go out there and make 30-plus starts these next five years and that's the ultimate goal," deGrom said on the GBag Nation Thursday on 105.3 The Fan.