Last Offseason Impressed New Rangers Pitchers
New Texas Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney, like Jacob deGrom, took note of what the Rangers did last offseason as part of his decision to sign a deal with Texas this offseason.
Heaney signed a two-year, $25 million deal to likely be the final piece of an all-veteran rotation for 2023. deGrom, who signed a five-year, $185 million deal right before the Winter Meetings, is seen as the team’s new ace.
Both know they’re joining an organization that has had six straight losing seasons. Both want to change that.
Both saw the Rangers’ spending last offseason as their first attempt to build a foundation out of that abyss.
“Behind the scenes, (there are) things that I'm hearing from other guys from other players and, you know, the year prior and kind of how the offseason went,” Heaney said.
The Rangers committed more than $500 million last offseason, primarily to shortstop Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million) and second baseman Marcus Semien (seven years, $175 million). The Rangers also handed starting pitcher Jon Gray a four-year, $56 million deal.
Those deals didn’t necessarily pay off on the field in 2022, as the Rangers only won eight games more than in 2021. Seager made the American League All-Star team for the first time. Semien overcame an awful start to earn finalist honors for a Gold Glove and Gray missed two months due to injuries but still went 7-7.
When deGrom was introduced to the media last week, he said that he paid attention to what the Rangers spent last offseason.
“That definitely played a big role,” deGrom said. “You know, they're signing great guys, great players, and it's gonna be an exciting team.”
Heaney saw those actions last offseason, too. He also had the benefit of seeing the Rangers spend money on deGrom several days before he agreed to his contract with the Rangers.
Oddly enough, Heaney said, there wasn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between deGrom’s contract and his contract.
“I'm excited to get to play with (deGrom) and get to pick his brain," Heaney said. "But I mean, I'm excited to also talk to Martin Perez and Jon Gray, all the guys in this rotation. I'm excited to be a part of that. So obviously, I understand the caliber of player that Jacob is, but I don't think it was a specific reason.”
Heaney comes to the Rangers after two seasons with three different teams. In 2021 the long-time Angels starter was traded to the New York Yankees at midseason and finished off a combined 8-9 with a 5.83 ERA.
He hit the free-agent market last season and ended up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he missed considerable time due to injuries. Once he returned he went 4-4 with a 3:10 ERA in 16 games (14 starts).
Even though he only played part of the year, Heaney boasted one of the best strikeout rates in the Majors, recording 13.62 strikeouts per nine innings, which was the best of his career and second-best among MLB pitchers with a least 70 innings. He struck out 110 and walked just 19.
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