We knew that the Mets weren’t going to be able to retain all of their free agents. Yet somehow it felt like Jacob deGrom was going to make his way back to Queens. But that’s now off the table, as he signed a 5/$185 deal with the Texas Rangers, with an option for a sixth season.

It doesn’t seem real. No one begrudged deGrom exercising his option to get a better deal. But the Rangers? Good luck with mediocrity in the Texas heat.

Should the Mets have matched the deal? It’s a lot of years and a lot of money for a guy who hasn’t pitched a full season since 2019. It’s hard to blame the Mets for not meeting or beating this contract. Now the focus is on other starters, whether that be Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon, Kodai Senga or Chris Bassitt. Maybe a two or three year deal for Verlander ends up the better play than five years with deGrom, even with Verlander’s advanced age.

When the Mets added Max Scherzer last year, there was a little bit of concern on my part on how he and deGrom would coexist. But that was never an issue. Now, it’s how Scherzer and Verlander might get along. The two were teammates in Detroit another lifetime ago. From a distance, it didn’t seem like bad blood, but they weren’t best buddies, either. Given how well Scherzer clicked with all of the pitchers on the Mets, it would be a surprise if he couldn’t blend with Verlander or whoever they may end up signing.

One thought I had once the season was over was that it was unlikely that the Mets were going to sign both deGrom and Bassitt. Now they definitely won’t have both and they might not have either. It will be curious to see where they go from here.

Oh, and sign Brandon Nimmo already.

13 comments on “Jacob deGrom signs five-year deal with Rangers

  • Woodrow

    Well Uncle Steve won’t just shrug his shoulders and sign Taillon for 15 million,he’ll spend that money on other players. I’m betting Verlander is signed and that Nimmo is. In CF.

  • Mike W

    Well well, looks like it is off to plan B. I am glad that he signed before the winter meetings. It gives us time to focus and work the phones for the meetings.

    I had a feeling that he was going to bolt. Even with deGrom, I think the Rangers will still stink. They can’t even touch the Astros. Plus, the Rangers bank is probably now closed. I think deGrom will regret his choice. I think the Rangers will too. Five years, ooof, that is a big risk.

    The best revenge we can get is to knock it out of the park this off season and win the World Series next year.

  • ChrisF

    I can’t help but be disappointed, but at the same time, degrom may have done us a favor. That contract is not gonna age well. I’d rather do 2 for 80 and get Verlander

  • Mike W

    Do you know who is hurt the most by this deal? It is the young Met fans who loved him. They will regret this day for the rest of their lives, just like when us oldsters lost Seaver. But with deGrom, it is a betrayal. That’s tough for a young baseball fan to deal with.

    I understand that he didn’t even give the Mets a chance to counter. His mind was made up.

    Hey, at least he didn’t sit on a stool with the “decision” and say I am taking my talents to Texas.

  • Metsense

    I was surprised he got a 5 year contract. A 3/135-150m was risky.
    I don’t fault deGrom for taking the money and security. I don’t fault the Mets for not signing him at that contract either. I’m disappointed but relieved . I glad in was Texas and not a NL team. The Mets were a 101 win team last year. deGrom accounted for 5 of them in 64.1 innings. The real problem is going be to replacing Bassitt ( 15 W, 182 IP) and Walker (12 W, 157.1 IP). I suggest Rodon ( 14 W, 178 IP) and Taillon (14 W, 177.1 IP). If they still uncomfortable about Peterson as the 5th starter then bring back Walker also.
    The Mets lost the best pitcher in baseball tonight but isn’t the end of the world.

    • T.J.

      +1, again. We’ll said

    • ChrisF

      And as awkward as it is to say it: the Mets have a long record of not winning games deGrom starts no matter how good he throws. In ‘18 and ‘19 the Mets were 14-18 both seasons on deGrom starts. Last year we won 5 games behind Jake.

      He’s always been a fave of mine but no one can deny that payday. Likewise, no one can blame Cohen for not matching that.

  • NYM6986

    Mets fans can’t help but be disappointed today that deGrom won’t be pitching for us this year. Any other opinion would just constitute a rationalization. I believed, and stated so in this arena early on, that he would bolt for another team because if he truly wanted to remain a Met, he would have resigned a long time ago as Uncle Steve had the wherewithal to make a Scherzer type deal at any time. Five years and $185 million is quite the deal. He will save about $15 million in state taxes as Texas does not have a state income tax. Poor Jake must have been having difficulties making ends meet for $32 million this past year or $500k per inning that he tossed. Sorry for the sarcasm but I’m disappointed. Maybe if he had gotten some run support while he was here instead of 33 no decisions between 2018 and 2019 and was an 18-20 game winner and not an 11 game winner, he might have come back into the fold. Maybe if he could have stayed healthy enough to stay on the field, we would have run away with the division last year. In 2021 he pitched like a god and the comparisons to Bob Gibson were incredible. He was nearly untouchable. What I don’t understand is why the Rangers? Texas was 68-94 last year, and a solid 4th place finisher behind the Astros and the dramatically improved Mariners. They were 18 games behind the last wildcard team. They had a minus 36 run differential. Almost every other team he was linked to including the underfunded but overachieving Rays, had a better shot at getting to the post season. So in the end, in this era of no loyalty, Jake jumped ship for the money and not the chance to wear a WS ring. He was paid $107 million over the four years of his last contract. The average worker in America after twenty years earns about $1.6 million but of course they can’t throw a 101 MPH fastball or make grown men look foolish at the plate. If he makes 25 starts for the Rangers, which would certainly be a miracle in itself, he will nearly make that much for each start.
    Okay, sorry. Now it’s out of my system, not only the disappointment, but a little relief that we can use what would have been over $40 million a year, even for the three years we were willing to go for, on other, younger players to help us bring home the flag. I will miss him on the mound for the excitement he created that had not been seen since Doc Gooden basically used to strike out 7-8-9 in the order on a regular basis and by the way faired pretty well against 1-6. See ya Jake. Thanks for the memories.

    • T.J.

      As it has been said, timing is everything. In this instance, it worked for Jake as a pitching poor large market team in an income tax free state had money to shop. The absence of a state income tax, while not the deciding factor, was still a big deal. It is also likely that the lifestyle played a role, but that may be a factor that the public will never know. I know some younger Met fans who are pretty upset today, and I was there long ago, but no longer. Cohen overpaid for Lindor and Scherzer. Those were brand building moves. Even with his dough, you can’t take on excessive risk on everyone, even beloved home grown stars. The Rangers now own Jake’s 35-39 year old seasons, coming off two years of major absences. As a fan I can accept that. If Rodon becomes the replacement, yes, he too has had his health issues, but I’d rather go for a 30 year old that NL East competition has seen minimally. Even Verlander on a short deal likely makes more sense, sentiment aside. I may be old school but I am a root for the jersey guy. And, Jake landing in Texas actually gives me a sense of relief…the Braves would have been the unthinkable, and the Dodgers or even the Cardinals would have been tough to swallow. The Rangers come to Flushing late August 2023, my preference is that Jake doesn’t take the Citifield mound in that visit.

    • Bob P

      I too am disappointed in losing an all time Met great. Unfortunately there are probably several factors that went into this for deGrom and I’ll never begrudge anyone taking money no matter how ridiculous it might seem to the average person. It’s all relative. Even a 3 year deal for $40M + would be risky. I will miss watching Jake pitch for my team but I wish him well. When he does come back to CitiField he deserves a huge ovation and tribute. Truly one of the greats and I’ll always be a fan of his (except when he pitches against the Mets) but now it’s time to move on to filling out the Mets roster.

  • Steve_S.

    Of course, as a fan, it’s disappointing to lose Jake. I wanted him signed, but for three years. He took the top offer—clearly an overpay. He probably loved the fans, who loved him, but apparently he did not like NYC. Money + lifestyle won out.

    Yes, I am fine with signing Verlander for 2 years/$80m with a team option for a 3rd year. Rodon would be a very good signing on a longer term deal. And yes, sign Nimmo, Chafin, Ottavino, and Senga in the next week. I wonder if they would trade Canha and get an OFer with more power too.

  • TexasGusCC

    I’m going to echo many sentiments stated above, but we did hear that deGrom, like Conforto, just didn’t like New York. Too, the Rangers last year signed Senger and Semien , so they’ve shown attempts to upgrade. Not sure what they’re doing up there in Dallas, but DeGrom in a different uniform is not sitting well.

    And while he didn’t give the Mets a last chance, he didn’t have to. I understand everyone’s concern about the injuries, but they weren’t chronic and weren’t the same. Still, the Rangers put in some injury clauses for the option year and deGrom signed it anyway.

  • MikeW

    Let’s look at the human side of deGrom. He married his high school sweetheart in 2014. They have two kids and live in DeLand Florida.

    To me, Jake looked like he didn’t like New York life. It is just an instinct. I am a die hard Mets and Jets fan, and I left New Jersey for a better life in North Carolina.

    Maybe Jake and his wife just wanted a different place to be for six months out if the year.

    So, how do we get out of this quandary? Part of the answer may have just popped up. Brian Reynolds has requested a trade from Pittsburgh. He is entering his age 28 season and has three years of control, starting in 2023 at $ 6.7 million next year. A Mauricio or Vientos led package could do the trick. Don’t be surprised to see rbis happen.

    That would free up about $17 million compared to what Nimmo would cost.

    They could invest that money in signing not only Verlander, but Rodon as well.

    So, losing deGrom is not all that bad. We got his best years, now he will move on and we did not take the risk of paying him $40 million per year.

    We won last year, pretty much without him.

    I just hope we make some waves at the winter meetings. I have confidence that Eppler will make some good moves and give us a competitive team.

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