3 teams that should already feel smart not paying Jacob deGrom $185 million

Jacob deGrom is already injured after signing a massive $185 million deal with the Rangers and several MLB teams should feel smart they didn’t overpay.

Entering MLB free agency, few names available on the market were as big as longtime Mets ace Jacob deGrom. And while the push to sign him was crowded, it was the Texas Rangers who came in with a godfather offer of five years, $185 million — a hefty price to pay for the 34-year-old.

If it works out, it could be worth it for a Rangers team trying to make the leap. Unfortunately, it’s not off to a great start. On Wednesday as pitchers reported to Spring Training for the Rangers in Arizona, deGrom was held out after experiencing tightness in his left side during some cold weather. Texas elected to hold him out, though downplayed the severity of the injury.

With that said, it already looks quite bad for the $185 million man to already be sidelined, even if only brief. It looks even worse with his recent injury history. Though he’s been elite when on the field, deGrom has only started 26 games over the past two seasons due to injuries and is now in his mid-30s. Already not being at full health and dealing with an issue, even a minor one, is cause for concern.

Given the interest in deGrom this offseason, though, there are several MLB teams that have to feel quite smart that they didn’t overpay to land the pitcher in free agency. These three in particular have to feel quite good about that decision at this moment.

Jacob deGrom injury: 3 teams already looking smart for not overpaying pitcher

Cardinals definitely need pitching but an unavailable Jacob deGrom wouldn’t help

Make no mistake, there’s a reason that the St. Louis Cardinals were at least somewhat involved in the Jacob deGrom market in free agency. The future of the rotation does look somewhat troublesome.

St. Louis was a winner at last year’s trade deadline as they landed Jordan Montgomery from the Yankees and he absolutely delivered upon arriving with the Cardinals. Outside of that, though, Adam Wainwright looks set to retire after the 2023 season, Miles Mikolas has been good but not great and is sneakily in his mid-30s while Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz have struggled with injuries in their own right.

So the prospect of landing an ace like deGrom is understandably enticing, especially if he could hold down the rotation in the No. 1 spot for the next few years. If he’s hurt and not on the mound, though, he wouldn’t have done the Cardinals any good.

The organization should undoubtedly still be exploring all options to upgrade their pitching as the roster looks capable of contending for a World Series. But with the early issues with deGrom in Texas, St. Louis should be feeling good that they didn’t break the bank to pay him this offseason as the answer to their problem.