Report: Jacob deGrom will not waive his no-trade clause, keeping him in Texas

Jacob deGrom’s trade availability is expected to stay limited in the final stretch of the season. Per MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, deGrom has told the Texas Rangers that he wants to remain in Texas and will not waive his full no-trade clause, even if the club approached him about making it possible to deal him.

The no-trade clause element matters because it can sharply constrain what a club is realistically able to do at the trade deadline or in the weeks that follow. A “full” no-trade clause, as described in the report, gives the player the ability to block a trade to any team, which typically forces the organization to look elsewhere for roster upgrades rather than count on moving that particular asset.

Rosenthal’s reporting also places Texas in a broader decision-making posture around its core players. The same account says the Rangers are believed to have approached Corey Seager, who has an eight-team no-trade clause, and Nathan Eovaldi, who has a full no-trade clause, as well. Even without knowing the outcome of those conversations, the very fact that the club tested those avenues underscores the Rangers’ effort to determine whether key veterans could be made part of a larger strategy.

For fans and front-office observers, the distinction between an eight-team no-trade clause and a full no-trade clause is important. An eight-team clause can still create a path for a trade, depending on which teams are included in the player’s protected list. In contrast, a full no-trade clause usually means the protected list is effectively every destination, leaving the team with few, if any, viable trade options.

Texas’s reported outreach also highlights how offseason-to-inseason roster planning intersects with trade mechanics. Clubs typically try to understand a player’s willingness to waive restrictions before they go public with trade talks, because the restriction itself can determine whether the player is a meaningful bargaining chip or whether it is essentially off-limits. In this case, the report indicates that at least one of those core pieces, deGrom, has already set the boundary.

What follows from a report like this is less about a confirmed trade and more about what roster-building choices remain open. If deGrom’s stance holds, Texas will likely have to pursue improvement through other trade targets without assuming deGrom can be added to the pool. At the same time, the mention of Seager and Eovaldi suggests Texas will continue to calibrate its approach based on what those players will and will not allow under their respective no-trade terms.

Until and unless an official transaction is announced or the player’s position changes, this remains a constraints story rather than a deal story. Still, for a club weighing competitiveness and roster construction, knowing which players can be moved is often just as consequential as any rumored prospect package.