NEW YORK– The common saying, “You can never have enough pitching,” holds true in today’s baseball landscape as the Texas Rangers enter 2023 with one of the deepest, most formidable starting rotations across the game.
And it didn’t come cheap; the Rangers, led by Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Young, spent a total of nearly $264 million this offseason on pitching.
“Going into the offseason, we identified that we need to upgrade our starting pitching,” said Young. “We were very clear that we were going to explore both ends of the market and we did not put limits on this.”
Texas Rangers: 2022-2023 Offseason Spending
Jacob deGrom: 5-years/$185 million
Martín Pérez: 1-year qualifying offer/$18.65 million
Andrew Heaney: 2-years/$25 million
Nathan Eovaldi: 2-years/$34 million, includes third-year vesting player option
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
To start off, Rangers newest ace, Jacob deGrom fulfills the franchises’ required need for a big-game caliber arm. The two-time Cy Young award winner, four-time All-Star, moves Texas much closer to their winning window in an AL West division jolted by the Seattle Mariners and reigning World Series Champion Houston Astros.
“The vision was the same: build something great, and win year in and year out,” said deGrom about joining Texas.
“I’m ecstatic. To win in our game, you need pitching,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We couldn’t have a better guy to head up this rotation.”
Nonetheless, the key issue surrounding deGrom, 34, is remaining healthy, prepared to start every fifth day with no injury flares. Over the course of the last three seasons, deGrom pitched in only 38 games for a total of 224 innings.
Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
No doubt, one of the elite arms across the sport, posting a career 2.52 ERA with 1,607 strikeouts, but with that said, durability will be played as the main underlying factor.
“The goal is to make 30-plus starts and I truly believe that I will be able to do that,” deGrom said.
One of MLB’s top left-handers, Martín Pérez accepted a $18.65 million qualifying offer earlier this offseason remaining with the Rangers. Receiving his first All-Star nod in 2022, Pérez finished 12-8, recording a 2.89 ERA with 169 strikeouts across 32 starts.
Cada apertura de Martín Pérez es una joya. 💎 #MLBVenezuela pic.twitter.com/NQG0wJFHvI
— MLB Venezuela (@MLBVenezuela) May 27, 2022
Besides his energy and passion on the mound, Pérez’s dynamic is ‘painting’ the strike zone at an extremely efficient rate. The 31-year-old of Guanare, Venezuela, finished last season with the most called strikes on pitches out of the zone in MLB (120).
Yet another left-hander was added to the fold with the investment of Andrew Heaney, agreeing to terms on a two-year/$25 million deal. Heaney, 31, is coming off one of his best career seasons, posting a 3.10 ERA while fanning 110 batters in 16 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
OFFICIAL: We've signed LHP Andrew Heaney to a two-year contract. pic.twitter.com/mlaEXY4nu2
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) December 9, 2022
In addition, Heaney is productive in either role, as a starter or reliever, when asked upon. In the last two seasons, he’s made 37 starts and nine relief appearances.
With their most recent move, the Rangers solidified the rotation by signing Nathan Eovaldi to a two-year/$34 million deal that includes a third year player option. Throughout his five-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, winning the World Series in 2018 and being named an All-Star in 2020, Eovaldi was 26-18 overall with a 4.05 ERA and 468 strikeouts.
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The 32-year-old is a clubhouse favorite, utilizing his veteran leadership when needed and contains a bulldog-like pedigree on the bump.
Potentially slating out the final spot in the rotation is 31-year-old, Jon Gray. The right-hander was 7-7 in 2022 with Texas, posting a 3.96 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 24 starts. On a durable note, Gray has gone for 24 or more outings in each full season since 2019; (2020 shortened season: Eight).
“Don’t tell me ‘we can’t win’. I think when you look at the end of the day at our rotation, we’re going to have a chance to win everyday,” Bochy said.
“That’s all you could ask for, so, we’re definitely heading in the direction we need to and it starts with pitching.”
Time will tell just how great this Texas Rangers starting rotation could potentially become. And shockingly enough, we’ll get answers soon…
Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in approximately 40 days.
“Follow us on instagram@latinosportsoficial for updates and exclusive content”
Robert Rizzo writes for Latino Sports
Follow on Twitter: @RobertRiz994
Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
Watch Sports with Rich live on Tuesday Nights at 8pm EST on The SLG Network/Youtube with host Rich Mancuso and cohost Robert Rizzo.
