Rangers’ quest for pitching could lead them to Jacob deGrom

The Rangers are intent on adding a big-time starter, and word is they may go for Jacob deGrom. Folks marvel at how MLB’s best pitcher is throwing better than ever off his 13-month layoff, and while there aren’t a lot of teams ready to take a $40 million gamble, the Rangers might.

Rangers baseball president Chris Young wouldn’t address any specific pitching targets but said they “will leave no stone unturned” in their search to upgrade pitching a year after they significantly upgraded offense.

There’s been a lot of speculation about whether the DeLand, Fla., product deGrom prefers to leave New York and go south, though most speculation centers on the Braves. From here it’s hard to see a corporate team taking that risk….

It’s a sad day when the Royals let go baseball president Dayton Moore, a fantastic baseball guy who remains the only true small-market GM to reach two straight World Series and win one. The firing surprised him, too. Expectations there were unrealistic. Moore always joked he was the only GM from Garden City Community College (he also graduated George Mason); the trend is toward Ivy Leaguers. Manager Mike Matheny, who doesn’t seem favored by players, would seem to be in peril now.