Jacob deGrom signed with the Rangers instead of heading back to New York, prompting prime trolling of the Mets on Twitter.
Whatever hopes Mets fans had of keeping Jacob deGrom in New York evaporated on Friday night when Jeff Passan reported that the ace pitcher was signing with the Rangers.
deGrom is getting a five-year contract from Texas with additional details to sweeten the pot for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Here’s how MLB Twitter reacted to the deGrom news.
Best memes and tweets after Jacob deGrom signs with the Rangers
Astros: win the World Series and sign Jose Abreau
— The Town Tailgate Podcast (@towntailgate) December 3, 2022
Mariners: playoff team last year and will make moves
Angels: acquire Tyler Anderson & Hunter Renfroe
Rangers: JACOB DEGROM
A’s: best I can do is cyber Monday tickets
Giving Jacob DeGrom a $185 million, 5 year contract is insane. Especially with his injury history. As much as I hate him, Steve Cohen is a smart man. He wasn’t going to give DeGrom that. Mets will now pivot to Verlander or Rodon.
— Austin (@AustinPlanet) December 3, 2022
The Texas Rangers are going to be for real. First they get Bruce Bochy out of retirement to manage the club and now they sign Jacob deGrom. Must be nice...
— ✨JC✨ (@SteelCityJames) December 3, 2022
Goodbye, Jacob deGrom 🥲
— Amazin' But True Podcast (@AmazinButTrue) December 3, 2022
Over or under Jacob deGrom winning 2 more cy young awards now
— Billy (@theMarangatang) December 3, 2022
I AM NUMB
https://twitter.com/TheGameDayMLB/status/1598852451406266369?s=20&t=0as2_1hBrSJE6FsR1EWFWw
LAWD HAVE MERCY the Rangers pulled it off! Jacob DeGrom to Texas for 5 years! LFG BOYS! #StraightUpTX
— Daniel 🇺🇸 (@D_S_C_87) December 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/BeyondTheHalo/status/1598852420196794369?s=20&t=0as2_1hBrSJE6FsR1EWFWw
As painful as it may be, I wish Jacob deGrom all the success unless he's facing the Mets.
— Fire Billy Eppler (@M_etsFan48) December 3, 2022
@ Jacob deGrom pic.twitter.com/aS5NuyCsP0
— Joey Langone (@JoeyLangone) December 3, 2022
After signing Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young walks into Texas Live! like ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/f7GZudJ9pw
— 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 (@TommySledge) December 3, 2022
There’s nothing that brings MLB Twitter together like the ability to laugh at one of the New York franchises.
At the same time, some Mets fans were fine with the news, focusing on the frustration of deGrom’s injury history as reason enough not to give him such a big contract. He missed much of the 2022 season with lingering injury problems, making a debut in August.
Ultimately, the Rangers will have to wait and see if deGrom can put together some healthy seasons and prove himself worthy of the contract. If he is healthy, he’ll be quite the addition to their rotation.
New York won’t have to worry about deGrom’s injuries anymore, but they will need to figure out their own pitching staff going forward. They are rumored to be interested in big names like Justin Verlander but losing deGrom is only okay if they managed to sign one of those other pitching stars.