Jacob deGrom is one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB, yet the New York Mets appear determined to not sign him to the lucrative long-term deal he deserves.
For his part, deGrom seems to think that a deal will not get done any time soon.
“Yeah, I said I wanted to get something done, but it’s getting close to Opening Day and I think my focus is on that right now,” deGrom said, per Tim Healey of Newsday.
This dynamic is one that is getting under the skin of teammate Noah Syndergaard, who let loose with a barrage against his own organization on Sunday.
Speaking about his Cy Young-winning teammate, Syndergaard made it clear the Mets need to make a deal.
“Jake is the best pitcher in baseball right now,” Syndergaard said, per the New York Post. “I think he deserves whatever amount he’s worth and I want to keep him happy so when it becomes time to reach free agency, he stays on our side and pitches for the Mets. I just think they should quit all this fuss and pay the man already.”
Syndergaard continued, saying he thinks the way New York is handling the situation will send a message to the rest of the clubhouse, “because of what you see, what’s going on in baseball right now. If there wasn’t a trend of other guys getting contract extensions then I don’t know what the circumstance would be, but you see Chris Sale, Verlander, those guys getting extensions, I think it’s time Jacob gets one, too.”
deGrom is playing out a one-year, $17 million deal before hitting arbitration in 2020 (without an extension, of course). Obviously, with other pitchers landing mega-extensions like Justin Verlander just did, he’s got to be frustrated with how this has all played out.