Jacob deGrom, the greatest pitcher of this generation, choked back emotion.
“I knew it was likely going to come,” Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young said, “and when I saw it, it just broke my heart, honestly.”
At that point, deGrom had thrown just about 30 innings to a 2.67 ERA for the first team he’d played for after leaving the New York Mets organization. But also, it had been more than a month since he’d taken the mound for the Rangers, who signed him to a five-year, $185 million deal early this past offseason.