The Mets attempted to work out a long-term contract extension with talented right-hander Jacob deGrom this offseason, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes. However, those talks apparently never gained much traction. At this point, it appears as though deGrom expects to test the open market after his remaining three arbitration years are up. “As of right now, it looks like it’s going to be a year-to-year thing,” deGrom told reporters on Thursday. “I have got this year and two more, so I am still going to be here a while. If they want to extend past that, I guess we’ll see where it goes.” While those comments still imply that deGrom is keeping an open mind, the nature of his words seem to cast doubt on any chance of him giving the Mets some of his free agent years in advance the 2020-2021 offseason. He avoided arbitration this offseason by agreeing to a one-year, $7.4MM deal for 2018. The 29-year-old righty reached the 200-inning threshold for the first time in 2017 while pitching to a 3.53 ERA and 3.23 xFIP. During his four major league seasons, deGrom has been worth an average of over 4 fWAR. Since reaching the majors in 2013 (and ultimately winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award), he’s posted a sparkling 2.98 ERA, having struck out 9.67 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.33.
Other notable items from around the NL East…
- Elsewhere in the Big Apple, Mets center fielder Juan Lagares has faith in his newly-overhauled swing, Puma writes in a separate piece. Lagares reportedly spent ten days in California with Craig Wallenbrock, a well-known hitting coach. His new approach (in line with a recent trend around the league) involves an objective to hit the ball in the air more often. “The last couple of years I have hit the ball super hard, but on the ground, so I am just trying to get it a little more in the air,” he says. While it’s certainly true that Lagares’ past approach has elicited a far greater percentage of ground balls (50.8) than fly balls (28.8), his claim that he’s hit the ball “super hard” seems a bit far-fetched. Via Fangraphs, the soon-to-be 29-year-old owns a hard contact rate of just 27.5% for his career, and his figure from last season (29.6%) was just north of that.
- A small handful of current and former Marlins front office executives are set to run marathons in seven consecutive days on seven different continents, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. The “183.4-mile racing odyssey,” as Jackson calls it, will be led by Jeff Conine; he’ll be joined by ex-Marlins-president David Samson and ex-broadcasting-executive P.J. Loyello, along with two current Miami officials and 11 other people in a fascinating enterprise that will benefit 11 charities at the expense of an immense physical toll on their bodies. “You can’t pass up a life experience like this. I’ll never have the opportunity to do something like this ever again,” Conine offered on the subject. “Why not?”
Could Lucroy help the mets, or is he basically the same player as D’Arnaud?
D’Arnaud can’t be counted on to stay healthy or be consistent. I think Lucroy would be a big upgrade, even if he doesn’t return to his all star former self
Lucroy would be a huge upgrade, both defensively & offensively (and healthwise), even if he doesn’t bounce back 100%. Plus leadership. I’d love the Mets to sign him. They won’t. Too expensive. But you say “you don’t know what he’ll cost!” True. Doesn’t matter. He won’t be coming on a Reyes deal (1 yr/ $2M), so too expensive for ownership. It’s the hell of being a Mets fan in 2018.
As an Os fan I understand the pain. Two top players, Machado and Schoop, cancelled their autograph sessions for fanfest this week with Fanfest taking place tomorrow. This with top closer Britton being out half the year and only having 2/5 of an actual starting rotation it’s going to be a very long season. When I say 2/5 I mean it literally too. They have Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Every other starting option was either in minors or bullpen last season. The team is a mess and spring hasn’t even started.
Lucroy is done, just another run of the mill catcher
Mets should target realmuto if they want to upgrade behind the plate. If he goes to the nationals you can guarantee them the NL east again.
True, but we don’t have the prospects to pull it off. Only 1 guy in the top 100, and he ain’t early in the list.
Lucroy will give you similar if not inferior offense to d’Arnaud. When you tease out the Colorado production Lucroy looks like he’s gone off a cliff. On top of that Plawecki showed signs of his original prospect status towards the end of last season. He reportedly has embraced the same revolution that Lagares has: fly balls and launch angle. Plaw could raise some eyebrows this season.
Your lips to God’s ears on Plaw…
Mets had one of the best offensive numbers at the catching position last year in the National League. Granted Defensively D’Arnaud is horrible offense wise they were fine last year. I wish we could get Realmuto but we have a depleted farm and a deal involving Matz isn’t going to get it done for Realmuto.
If anyone followed the Mets and deform over the years you will know that he is a non spotlight kinda guy with a casual way about himself especially in interviews and all. Those words could easily mean that he is just taking it year by year and see what happens. I wouldn’t read into those few lines from him “wanting to test the market”. Sheesh.
Yeah, you’re not wrong, but I doubt it really changes things. It won’t be de Grom holding out for FA that sinks an extension, it’ll be the Wilpons. Their final offer will be a joke (as I expect it was this time around), and that will be that.
The author of this Degrom post, Kyle Downing, did not include other comments from Degrom stating that he really likes being a Met and would be interested in staying.
” “I enjoy playing here so if they talk and we can agree on something that we feel is fair then I’d be open to doing that. As of right now, it looks like it’s going to be a year to year thing. I got this year and two more. I am still going to be here a little while. If they want to extend past that, then we’ll see where it goes.”
“”I enjoy playing here. I would definitely be open to talking to them about an extension,” deGrom said.
sny.tv/mets/news/jacob-degrom-is-open-to-an-extens…
So that the Mets and Degrom haven’t worked out an extension with three years still to go, doesn’t at all mean they won’t work out a deal. There’s plenty time for that.
And the Wilpons are already open to an extension. as have done with other impact players such as Cespedes, and Wright.
Little nitpick, Cespedes wasn’t an extension. He opted out, and signed a whole new deal.
Don’t forget that he already refused to sign his 2016 contract, so you probably right, he’s going year by year and see what the Mets give him
Theyll never do it, but the mets should rebuild/retool.
Imagine the hauls theyd get for syndergaard and degrom. Idk if cespedes has a ntc but hed fetch a decent return. They could get back some serious talent trading those 3 and retooling.
No. Cespedes would not fetch a decent return. All 29 other teams had the right to pay him that much money a year ago without giving up any of their own trade chips and they all said “No thanks.”
And he does have a NTC.
Or they got outbid. The same could be said for anyone signed the past couple of years, and multiple of them have been traded. Just because a team didn’t get their guy doesn’t mean they’ll be unwilling to trade for him
If they got outbid it means the Mets offered him more money than they were willing to. If they weren’t willing to pay Cespedes all that money a year ago, why would they give up prospects to do it now? He didn’t exactly help his stock in 2017.
Wrong. November 2016 Cespedes rejected the Mets QO. Meaning, any team that signed him a. Would do so at his price while b. Sacrificing their highest pick under the old rules.
They would have sacrificed a trade chip by forfeiting their draft pick, whoever it may have been. Which teams hated so much that now it’s a 3rd round pick instead of a 1st or 2nd.
Try again.
If you’re serious about signing a guy like Cespedes, the draft pick is the least of your concerns.
Either way, if what you say is true, that teams didn’t want to give up a draft pick to pay him all that money, they aren’t going to give up a “decent return” to do it now.
There’s a marathon in Antarctica?
Yes, and they’re sending Realmuto as the player rep for that one. They’d like to see how firm he is on that trade demand.
unless there is another continent I haven’t heard of, it sure sounds like it.
I thought this had to be a mistake, but sure enough there is a Marathon January 30th in Novo Antarctica.
I’d hate to draw that short straw.
Yes. I actually met a 70 year old lady that was running a marathon in Jamaica while my wife and I were there for the half marathon. She told us she was very upset because she planned to run the Antarctica one but that year the Russians pulled out for some political reason. In the Antarctic marathon it seems you run between the scientific huts.
You gotta be one hell of an athlete to be able to run from one continent to another.
Not sure why someone down voted your comment, I thought it was pretty funny.
More than an athlete. You need superpowers.
Why “work out a long-term contract extension” to a 29 year-old pitcher, that has 2 more years with the club (to age 32)? And only has 1 year (last one) with more than 200IP
I’m not saying he’s not good, but why?
It’s not going well, e.g., for the Red Sox with David Price
Because a 5 year extension is considered long term now, that buys out his last 2 arb years & 3 years of FA, and that only takes him to his age 34/35 season (June birthday). Hardly ancient, and you’ve received value even if he slips then. And David Price isn’t bad because he’s 32, he’s bad because he’s wilting under the pressure of a huge contract & his postseason failures in a media market he can’t handle. Send him to SD and he’d be an All-Star again in no time.
I wrote about Price, because Price sign with Boston on age 30, so he’s kinda like deGrom, and if deGrom will sign an extension I believe he will want the big check, maybe not so much like Price, but…
Regarding your last phrase, I’ll believe you, I didn’t knew that the pressure was to much for him
Tough spot for Degrom really. There’s no incentive for an extension on the mets part they have him locked up for his best seasons as it stands and would only really miss 1-2 years of his productive career if they lose him after that.
deGrom has no true incentive to sign a long term deal….outside of a potential career altering injury…as long as he pitches at his current level…or even improve…his arbitration salary will continue to rise and at 32, could probably get a 3yr deal with a 4th yr option…
Here are his two scenarios…
Sign an extension now…
I say 5yr/$110mil is fair if the Mets want to be loyal
Or pitch to free agency and land a
3yr/$54mil with 4th yr option at $16mil
So 4yr/$70
I think though that Thor gets the extension
If he stays healthy….in 2019 at 27 say…
6yr/$170mil
Agree re Thor, except that with inflation (salary increase inflation, not real economic inflation, of course), assuming Thor-like performance & health through age 27, it’ll take more like 6/$180+, I’d think.
Jeter isn’t part of the marathons? Smh by the time all those executives get back to Miami he’ll have already traded everyone and demolished the arena for fun or something
How many long term contract, extentions or FA, ever work out? How about Kemp, Pujols, Price, Cueto, Cc. Sabathia, Zimmerman and Zimmermann doing to name a few. Only ones that come to mind are Trout, Altuve and Scherzer.
Idk what ur talking about besides CC’s two bad years when he was hurt he was been an elite pitcher for the yanks.
Cueto has had one bad year and one excellent year in his current contract, with 4 left to play. I’m not sure you can say that it’s a horrible contract right now.
The marlins are actually doing something good for once!
The problem with Lagares is that he tries to hit the ball in the air too much and if there was a man at third and less than two outs…great. He would be better suited taking hitting lessons from Paul LaDuca , lay off the inside pitch, work the count stay back and slap the ball the other way. Use a lighter bat too. He wants to hit home runs, and that translates to .235 and too many unproductive at bats.
I do worry that with a player like Lagares, this whole launch angle adjustment will turn into a Willie Mays Hays situation.