Jacob deGrom

Jacob deGrom surprised many when he chose not to stay with the New York Mets to instead sign with the Texas Rangers this offseason, and he also didn't expect the move himself.

"It was never like, 'I'm outta here,'" deGrom told Jon Heyman of the New York Post after a bullpen session on Sunday. "You look at places you can see yourself playing. All I had known was New York, and part of me thought I'd be back."

DeGrom, who won two Cy Young Awards during his nine seasons with the Mets, also denied rumors that he disliked his time in New York.

"That kind of got out. [But] I really enjoyed my time in New York," deGrom said. "I have friends that will be lifelong friends in New York. We still keep in touch with a lot of people. That was all I knew for 13 years, including eight seasons in the big leagues. The fans and everyone were always great to me. It was never like 100 percent I'm leaving here."

The 34-year-old signed with the Rangers on a five-year, $185 million contract. Heyman noted that the Mets' offer to deGrom was in the neighborhood of $100-110 million, though he wasn't disappointed with that number and viewed his move simply as a business decision. His original $137.5 million deal with New York was well below the value of a pitcher of his caliber, but he dispelled the notion that he wasn't happy with his contract.

"That didn't bother me, that was ultimately my decision to sign that," he said. "I saw something about that I was mad about that. I was never mad about that. I went out after I signed that and I tried to give my best every year."

He continued: "As a kid you never imagine making that. The goal was to play and to have fun. I was fortunate to sign that first contract in New York. I was never really upset about that. That's life-changing money. To say I was upset about that, that was nowhere close to being true."

The four-time All-Star missed a few days during spring training with left side tightness, but he appears to be on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.