File this under one of the weirder sights in sports: Jacob deGrom sitting in a Texas Rangers jersey and cap at his introductory press conference on Thursday afternoon.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner who spent his first eight professional seasons with the Mets — becoming one of the best pitchers of this generation — inked a five-year, $185 million deal last week to end his Queens tenure in free agency.
“That’s not an easy decision,” deGrom said on Thursday. “I’ve spent the first eight-plus years with the New York Mets. I have to thank them for that. They’ll always hold a special place in my heart, my wife’s heart, my kids.
“From ownership to my teammates there and the fans ultimately, they made me feel welcome there. They played a big role in my career. There will always be a special place in my heart for the New York Mets and their fans.”
Per reports, deGrom didn’t give the Mets much of a chance to make their best and final offer to potentially retain him. Granted, it would have been unlikely for a team that has other aspects to address to maintain a 101-win pace from last season to offer that many years to the 34-year-old with recent injury issues.
“It’s just a part of the business of baseball,” deGrom said. “Seeing what [Rangers GM Chris Young] and [manager Bruce Bochy] were building, it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Down in Texas, deGrom will be the poster child of a team that has never won a World Series and is trying to expedite a rebuild that hasn’t included a postseason appearance in six years. But after spending nearly half a billion dollars last year on Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, deGrom sees the promise in Arlington.
“Going through the process, you set up meetings with teams and whenever I found out the Rangers were one of those teams, I was really excited. Getting on a call with [Young] and [Bochy] and hearing the vision of what the Rangers want to do and ultimately… the vision here of bringing a World Series here. That’s the goal.
“Winning a World Series. These guys all had that same vision and it lined up with what I wanted to do. They showed a ton of interest right at the start and the feeling was mutual.”
