With Jacob deGrom leaving the Mets to sign a massive five-year deal with the Texas Rangers, and doing it before the Winter Meetings, he in effect did New York a big favor.
Instead of GM Billy Eppler, the rest of the front office, and owner Steve Cohen having to focus on a potential resolution with deGrom, they can go about replacing him — and deciding if adding a replacement ace no matter what really should be the plan.
Some words on deGrom before discussing what should be next…
Two things seem to be true here.
The first is that deGrom did not like the New York City lifestyle and didn’t prefer to remain a Met. And that he bolted for Texas without giving the Mets a chance to match the offer or really involve them much in his free agent process speaks volumes.
But the second thing kind of renders the first one moot. And that’s the apparent fact that the Mets were never going to guarantee deGrom five years and probably wouldn’t have even guaranteed four.
So whether deGrom liked NYC or wanted to stay a Met is basically a pointless discussion. With the Mets (and probably any other team), the years and dollars weren’t going to come close to what they were in Texas. And it was deGrom’s right to chase the years and dollars, as most players do.
Now, the Mets are without the best pitcher in the sport who has a chance to attain his goal of becoming an “inner-circle” Hall-of-Famer if he can stay healthy. And while I wrote above about the Mets potentially replacing him, he can’t actually be replaced. They can find another ace, but no one like deGrom exists.
So, what should the Mets do?
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the Mets continued dialogue with Justin Verlander‘s camp throughout the weekend — with Verlander doing his “due diligence” on the Mets organization. Per Martino, the Mets are also talking to Carlos Rodon and several starters who profile as mid-rotation guys.
When it comes to Verlander, there are lots of Mets fans out there who want nothing to do with him because he’s about to turn 40 years old. I think that’s ridiculous.
Yes, Verlander is older, but he is not your average 40-year-old…