deGrom turns down Braves, stays loyal to Rangers

The trade deadline usually means something when your team is fading fast, and the Rangers were fading. Texas entered deadline week on a 6-game losing streak, sitting 2.5 games back in the AL West and 2 games out of a Wild Card spot. That's exactly the kind of situation where a 38-year-old ace with a full no-trade clause starts thinking about his ring window elsewhere.

Instead, deGrom did the opposite of what a lot of guys in his shoes would do. Ken Rosenthal broke the news that the Braves and other teams came calling on the 2-time Cy Young winner, and Texas actually gave him the option.

Ken Rosenthal

@Ken_Rosenthal

The Braves and others showed trade interest in Jacob deGrom. He opted to stay in Texas. Story, unlocked and free to read: t.co/vxs99NtRhQ

According to reporting, the Rangers told deGrom flat out: if you waive the no-trade clause, we'll get a deal done. Atlanta wanted him bad enough to formally reach out on deadline day looking for rotation help. DeGrom said no thanks. He signed his 5-year, $185 million deal with Texas back in 2022 specifically to try to win there, and apparently that hasn't changed just because the record has gotten ugly.

That's a real gut-check for a franchise limping through a losing streak. It would've been easy for deGrom to point at the standings, point at his own list of injuries over the years, and decide his best remaining shot at a ring runs through Atlanta instead. He didn't. Whatever you think about the Rangers' playoff odds right now, deGrom clearly still believes in this group enough to stick around rather than cash in a change of scenery.

Rosenthal dug into the fallout on his Fair Territory podcast, running down the deGrom-Braves non-move alongside the rest of the deadline's winners and losers.

Ken Rosenthal

@Ken_Rosenthal

Fair Territory, post-deadline edition! *Winners and losers *deGrom and the Braves *Rutschman trade *And more YouTube: t.co/M4n7N9jq2V Apple: t.co/V802wO5GoR Spotify: t.co/KcSW90MxhI

For Texas, this is the best-case outcome without actually making a move. The rotation stays intact for whatever stretch run they've got left, and deGrom staying put is as close to a vote of confidence as a struggling team gets in early August. Whether the Rangers can turn that loyalty into a Wild Card push is a different question entirely.