TODAY, 10:16am: Talking to reporters today, deGrom said “it would be really cool” to be with the Mets for his entire career, but “the plan is to exercise” his opt-out clause after the season “and be in constant contact in the offseason with the Mets and Steve Cohen and the front office.”
YESTERDAY, 6:52pm: Approximately eight months from now, Jacob deGrom can opt out of the remainder of his contract and become a free agent. Despite that, the Mets aren’t seriously thinking about extending him for now, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Team owner Steve Cohen said they won’t be engaging in extension talks until “the appropriate time,” as quoted by DiComo. “We’re going to play the season and then we’ll figure that out, and Jake will do what he does,” Cohen said. “We love Jake, and we’ll figure it out at some point.”
Despite already being one of the best pitchers in baseball over the previous seven seasons, deGrom seemed to be taking his game to new heights last year. Through 15 starts and 92 innings, deGrom had a miniscule ERA of 1.08, along with comical strikeout and walk rates of 45.1% and 3.4%, producing an incredible 4.9 fWAR in that time. Unfortunately, injuries put him on the shelf and he didn’t make a start after July 7th.
That duality is surely what’s giving the club some hesitation about taking on the added risk of another extension. If deGrom were to undergo another injured-marred campaign, he could potentially decide not to opt out of his contract, leaving the Mets on the hook for $34.5MM in 2023. Under this scenario, the club could wait until the end of that year and decide whether or not to exercise a $34.5MM club option for 2024. This option doesn’t appear to have a buyout, making the wait-and-see path a low-risk option for the club.
deGrom was something of a late bloomer, not making his debut until just before his 26th birthday. That means that, despite only pitching in eight MLB seasons, he will turn 34 in June. Under the scenario where deGrom doesn’t opt out, the club could already control him through his age-36 season. However, there’s also the alternate scenario where deGrom does opt out and leaves the club in November. Since he was producing at an elite level as recently as a year ago, it’s still entirely possible that he could opt out, hit the open market and easily beat the money still owed to him. After all, deGrom’s new teammate Max Scherzer just signed a record-setting $130MM deal with an AAV of $43.33 at the age of 37. deGrom still has the potential to hit the open market three years younger than that.
At this early stage of spring, the early reports indicate that everything seems to be okay with deGrom health-wise, as general manager Billy Eppler found no cause for concern when speaking to the training and coaching staff. Regardless, it seems like the preference of the club is to wait and see before taking on that additional risk. Even if deGrom does stay healthy and opts out, the club has certainly not been shy about spending in recent years, making it entirely possible that the worst-case scenario is they just have keep spending to keep deGrom around.
Mets will snag him. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues on his tear. He’s on a different level right now. I’ve never seen a pitcher do what he’s doing.
“…continues on his tear.” Bad choice of words.
$10m a year with incentives to make him a $40m a year total.
Lmao he’s not accepting that dufus
Hey, that’s not so nice, guy.
Jake loves NY and if it was the wilpigs as the owner yeah he probably walks. Not with Uncle Stevie as the owner. Jake will get paid but he also wants to win and I would not take anything from him if he’s healthy and the Mets don’t make the playoffs. The guy is gonna get paid regardless if hes healthy and would never knock him for wanting to go to a team who pays him but also delivers on being in contention and best chance for a ring. Literally the modern day Sandy Koufax imo. I am a realistic Mets fan. He already took below market value with this past extension it’s time for the Mets to prove it!!
He finally has a rotation to back him. Not a Mets fan but well done, Steve Cohen
But he had the 5 aces…lol
Wheeler turned out to be great. Syndergaard still has a ton of Ace potential. Matz was never viewed as an Ace but was a damn good #4. And Harvey turned out to be addicted to drugs which seems to have derailed his career.
It just never came together at the same time. But that rotation had a lot of optimism around it
What’s really funny is the Phillies five aces never won either. The World Series fluke happened prior to Halladay. Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels and no ring. But enjoy your snark my man.
It wasn’t snark. I live in NY. The 5 aces were shoved down our throats. The Phillies aces dominated that season. They didn’t win in the playoffs because the Phillies didn’t hit, but the pitching staff was an absolute success if you look at that stats, even with all the injuries.
Von, you know that Wheels would still be a Met if Uncle Steve was owner at that time. I still cant believe BVW didnt even make him an offer but then i remembered that the Wilpons were still the owners so…..
You could be right. I think Wheeler wanted out as soon as that playoff disrespect happened. The Mets wouldn’t even give him tickets to the games!
And a decent offense…which never seems to show up with deGrom on the mound
I just realized something. Mets can QO Bassitt and get a draft pick to replace Ginn. They’re not losing a prospect
That’s only if they don’t agree on the International Draft. If they do agree on that then the Qualifying Offer system goes away.
Right. We’ll see. But I doubt they agree on an international draft. I would say more probable the QO remains
Probably Mets FO was betting on the QO remaining
*ahem* Adam Oller would like a word
Oller they picked up in the minor league rule 5 draft
I’ve really never seen Oller, but the fact that he was barely even drafted and then left unprotected in the Rule 5 probably means he’s seen more as just a spot starter/AAAA guy
Oh my b, I guess that makes him not a prospect.
or when out of contention they can trade him at the deadline for some prospects that are closer to MLB ready.
Give him $1B and let him pitch in NY as long as he wants.
He would be wise to escape that cursed franchise at the first chance.
Good point. When they offer him tons of cash he should turn it down because you think the franchise is cursed. Hopefully he’ll consult you on that.
He’s won two Cy Youngs and may be a Hall of Famer if he puts in another 4-5 years of greatness. I don’t think he needs to take any advice from annoying Mets haters on MLBTR.
Freddie Freeman is still a free agent and you’re still on this kick? Dude let it go. If he signs anywhere but Atlanta your team is an after thought with a few real good young players. See Philly 2008
He asked for a NTC cuz he is happy with the organization.
Generational icon Freddie Freeman just escaped the Braves and you’re worried about other teams?
He’s probably planning to be an LA Dodger or something, gonna hurt the Mets fans. Lol
If he can still throw, will he get Aaron Rodgers money?
I can’t keep doing this
Just announce Correa to Boston
@FletcherFan69- I wouldn’t want it any other way; enjoy.
literally a 4th place team
also you don’t need to @ people I already know you’re responding to me so it literally does nothing, old man
Hey @ Fletcher! What’s wrong with the @ symbol?! And, define “old”, are we talking 50s, 60s? Or, like 40s? I have a problem with one of those @ Fletcher.
Red Sox over Padres in 2025
You guys think Cohen won’t resign him? Lol
I actually don’t, but I don’t mean that as a negative thing. It’s very possible deGrom’s best years are behind him. This season will be telling. I have no doubt he’ll continue to dominate, but if he can’t finish the season, that’s a problem.
Degrom is going to be good till 37 at least. Obviously he could still get hurt. And he won’t what he is now at 37+ but he will be like Morton.
Not commenting on his talent. Just his health. I’ve seen Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay go from all-time great to done in a season. Theoretically, deGrom can go that route too. I certainly hope not. He’s amazing to watch.
Lee and Halladay were significantly older, no?
I think they’re waiting to see if his elbow snaps in half before they decide how much to offer him.
Exactly. Cohen is being smart.
youtu.be/bxwhwHjzIh8
He’ll be the Opening Day starter for the Pirates in 2023.
Hey
Mets are stupid. Braves had the same opinion on Freeman and now everyone sees what’s going on.
As a Braves fan I can say there are more concerns with Degrom and future production than the Braves had/have with Freeman. Freeman is such a natural hitter that even if power numbers decline he would still be productive. If Degrom’s arm goes so does his production.
@SocoComfort So you’re saying you know for sure that if Degroms velocity isn’t hitting 98-100 on his fastball that a brilliant pitcher like him could not live in this league with a fastball at 92-93 and be able to mix his pitches and keep hitters off balanced along with hitting his spots? Pretty naive statement because if anyone can reinvent himself and flourish when that velocity drops it’s Jacob deGrom plain and simple.
He was elite throwing 93-96.. lol he won’t stop being good
So if Freeman has his production dip in one area he’ll be more valuable than deGrom if he declines in EVERY area. Thanks.
I’m a Mets fan. Ive watched DeGrom come up through the minors. One of the few who said he had ace potential when he wasn’t even ranked as a prospect
However my assessment right now is that the dead arm problem he has is essentially irreversible
Maybe Scherzer can teach him how to pitch through pain. But I watch and feel on any pitch it could be the end of DeGrom’s career
I hope I’m wrong. I’m just being honest about my assessments. That’s what I see
A dead forearm is basically at the bone level. The bones have become brittle. You can’t get that back
Feel free to sub comment with rage. But I’m not going to comment ‘hope everything is ok’ when the reality is that based on looking at him he’s hitting that age where the arm can’t do it anymore
I also pegged him as a future ace after watching him in spring training after his AA season. He just dominated the pitching mound when nobody heard of him, shredding the bottom of the strike zone and blistering the catcher’s glove.
My opinion is he just overthrew the human body. Just because he ‘could’ throw 102, doesn’t mean he should. He was perfectly fine until he wasn’t.
He didn’t even use his curveball more than 5 times all season. Nobody could touch his slider, but ultimately, that’s probably the pitch that hurt him.
Camden-Scherzer. The Pitcher who couldn’t pitch in the post season because of a dead arm? That Scherzer? Okay lol
Great to have pro scouts like yourself and Jim posting here.
@vtadave Most scouts don’t know what’s going on or what they’re doing, quite frankly
But they’re social and ‘normal’ so they get jobs. Many online ‘anons’/fans make better scouts
Do you really think, for example, Steve Phillips assesses talent well? No, he doesn’t. But he’s a ‘normie’ and fits in socially and so he gets the job
Steve Phillips once said he’d trade a young Stephen Strasburg for Roy Oswalt. A LOT of these people don’t know what’s going on
You sound like a bitter dude who couldn’t hack it as a scout or whatever it is you’re trying to make yourself out to be.
He never had dead arm.
The only downside to universal DH is no more of those 1-0 degrom games where he’s got the rbi.
He might actually hit as the dh in the event that a position player is banged up.
If Jacob deGrom stays healthy all year and the Mets win the World Series this year, they will sign him to a long-term deal and keep him in Flushing, Queens.
Two *major* ifs there.
Jake has been SUCH a class act right from the time he was signed to his first contract. I believe, if he’s healthy this year, he’ll receive a very lucrative 3-4 year, record breaking deal to stay in NY and retire in the blue and orange. He’s in great shape, but just overthrew his body last year. He’s smart enough to not make that mistake again.
Ill be the first to admit it that pitcher wins/losses don’t mean anything, but it’s hard believe that despite being one of the best pitchers in baseball this generation, deGrom has never had more than 15 wins in a season. Even though the Mets have never had that good of an offense to back him, you’d think he’d at least luck into 16-17 wins in one season because he’s just that good.
I’m in the same boat in regards to how I feel about pitcher wins, but it’s remarkable that he could potentially end his career without even getting 100 wins, Sitting at 77 right now, which at his rate is around two more seasons. Time will tell if he remains healthy enough (and the Mets score enough runs for him) to get there.
I dont think there’s a doubt he’ll reach 100. Even if he gets 10 in each of the next 3 years, he’ll get there.
In one of his Cy seasons it worked out that the only pitcher in the realm of degrom was a consolidation of all the the opposing pitchers’ stats in his starts.
This year will be telling. Health is a real concern.
How can the Mets wait and see if they’re going to engage in extension talks? The very nature of waiting puts DeGrom in FA.
Also, seems like this year will be irrelevant since it’ll be his first year after TJ anyway. Curious…….
Becasue the team needs to see health. He’s not going to get a 100-150m contract if he’s not healthy.
What are the chances he spends more time injured than he does pitching?
Let’s hope deGrom signs with the Yankees.
I think the contract Byron Buxton signed should be the future for people like deGrom, who have incredibly high upside, but are injury prone and likely to miss large chunks of a given season on the IL.
$17.5M base salary with $250k bonus per start, $500k for every 50 innings pitched, $5M bonus if he wins the Cy Young, $1M bonus for placing in the Cy Young race, $5M bonus if he wins league MVP, $1M bonus for placing in the MVP race, etc. etc. would get it done.
If he makes all 34 starts, pitches an average of 6.5 innings per start and gets the Cy Young and the MVP he can max out his annual salary at $37.5M per season. That would be very appropriate and fair compensation.
If he misses the entire season or is effectively worthless because he can’t pitch for very long per start and misses a ton of starts, etc. he still gets $17.5m which is still a high salary for an empty uniform and the bonus structure would guarantee he earns his actual value if he can make some of his starts and pitch a fair number of innings even if his playing time is limited by injury and if he places in the Cy Young or MVP race by virtue of the quality of the starts he does make, he still gets paid for that, too.
Seems like the best deal for all involved.
4 years/$70M guaranteed, up to 4 years/$150M if he maxes out the value of the deal and hits every single incentive.
Was he able to sign his entire name before hurting himself?
Cohen will make $ure that he stays.
DeGrom also wasn’t a pitcher his entire career. He may be 33-34 years old, but his pitching arm doesn’t have the milage most pitchers that age has.
The scary thing is, he’s getting BETTER with every passing season.
Now there’s legit concern about how well held together that arm of his is. Big injury concern in the here and now.
Cohen won’t be outbid for what he wants. If deGrom is deGrom, he will get paid and if he wants the top payout, it’s with the Mets.
Not concerned at all. About his arm or signing him to an extension. He’ll be in Queens for as long as he puts on a baseball uniform.
Jake isn’t going anywhere. He’s stated time and again that he likes the idea of staying with one team his entire career, and Cohen isn’t about to let him go elsewhere at any point in time.
They won’t extend him until he proves healthy. He won’t leave (and cohen won’t let him). If he makes it through the season healthy he will get his big money deal, if he end up needing TJ or something he will get a rehab deal when they will sign him to a two year thing with knowing one year is lost to rehab. Either way he stays in Queens for the next three to five years.
@the staff of MLBTR
Last 2 days I’ve had articles including this one not visible.
I cant remember which article yesterday it was specifically, but today I’ve been bouncing in and out of the Herrera, Hand and Olson articles while periodically refreshing every few minutes to see any breaking news.
Then this article finally appeared in the middle of the other 3. But it says it’s about 40 minutes old.
Probably that Canadian internet service you have
The reports of ligament issues last season were conflicting, but there was definitely something going on. That doesn’t mean there was any sort of tear. DeGrom doesn’t have the mileage on his arm that most 33 year old pitchers have. He dialed the velocity up a bit too high last season and, while the results were otherworldly, he doesn’t need to throw that hard. He’s still one of the most dominant pitchers in the league throwing 96-98 instead of 99-102.
He knows his body and his mechanics as well as anyone. And even if he does sustain an injury, he’ll pitch again and pitch effectively for many more years. All of the vitriol about him being “done” or likely having “his best years behind him” comes from the rivalry among teams and fans that makes baseball great. But let’s keep it real, deGrom is and will continue to be a helluva pitcher.