The New York Mets and Jacob deGrom have started to talk.
The ace opted out of his contract on Monday and will be free to negotiate with other teams starting Thursday.
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This is the time for the Mets to get out ahead of their competition, and SNY’s Andy Martino reports that they seem to be trying to do that.
Per Martino:
There has been preliminary contact between the Mets and Jacob deGrom’s camp, but nothing that has progressed very far yet. That’s the word
The Mets want DeGrom back, but if another team offers, say, 4 years at a very high number, Mets would be reluctant to go there.
Who may be willing to sign a big deal with the 34-year old? Martino reports the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers will be interested:
“A lot of people around [deGrom] who have known him for a long time think he’s going to want to take a good, hard look at teams that are closer to his Florida home. There’s been a lot of talk about deGrom wanting to play for the Braves at some point in his career. And the, of course, there’s the Texas Rangers … that could be a threat to the Mets. In terms of what the Mets have seen as their biggest threats for deGrom, probably those two teams.”
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According to Martino, here’s what deGrom would cost for the Mets:
“They’ve long assumed that deGrom was going to want more money, or at least equal money to (Max) Scherzer’s average annual value … he has conveyed to those around him ‘Hey, I’m the best pitcher in baseball for a while, these other players are getting paid more than me.’ You have to assume he’s going to want to be at that level. The question is going to be if the offers are going to be at that level after he’s had such a hard time getting on the mound the past two seasons.”
Scherzer is the highest paid pitcher in MLB history, making $43.3 million per year.
According to Spotrac, deGrom made $27.5 million this year.
MORE MLB:
– Yankees’ Aaron Judge named AL MVP finalist
– Mets’ Buck Showalter is a NL Manager of the Year finalist
– Yankees prospect named International League Pitcher of the year; Mets infielder named IL All-Star
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Bridget Hyland may be reached at [email protected].