We know you have to spend money to win in MLB; quite often, you have to cheat, too. Well, the Texas Rangers certainly are doing the former in preparation for next year’s baseball season. First, they foolishly signed an overrated, PED-enabling manager who is under .500 in his career to lead the team, and now they’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money on a mid-30s pitcher who cannot stay healthy to save his life right now.

What could possibly go wrong?

News broke yesterday that Texas signed former New York Mets pitching ace Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185M contract. Now, the facts: deGrom has pitched a total of 224-plus innings in the last three seasons combined. If you’re signing a guy to that big of a contract, you’re going to expect 225 innings every year of the deal. Why would the Rangers think that deGrom would suddenly get healthy? Throw in the fact he will be 35 years old next season, and the odds of his health improving are minimal.

Unless … the Rangers are counting on their new manager’s career-long association with players using PEDs to cheat as well. Perhaps the Texas organization saw what the cross-state Houston Astros did with aging, injured star pitcher Justin Verlander and have decided they can follow the same pathway to success: After all, Houston Manager Dusty Baker always has been an enabler of cheating players, and Texas Manager Bruce Bochy is of the same mold.

So, what will happen? Will deGrom go the natural route and collect his money when injured? Or will he go the Verlander/Baker route with Bochy at the helm? Only time will tell, but we’re betting that deGrom is a better human being than Verlander, Baker, and Bochy combined.