New York Mets should extend Jacob deGrom ASAP
The New York Mets need to extend Jacob deGrom and do it as soon as they can.
The New York Mets are on a budget, but that shouldn’t preclude them from long-term planning. The Mets worked out a stop-gap deal with Jacob deGrom for 2018. It’s worth $7.4 million. Even though talks have stalled on an extension, it’s not the time to stop now.
deGrom wants to be a Met, and fans should believe the Mets want him here. He is arbitration eligible for the next two season and can become a free agent after the 2019 season. The Mets claim they want to be competitive. The way they can show it is by signing deGrom to a long-term extension before he hit arbitration.
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Here’s what deGrom told Anthony DiComo of mets.com:
“I enjoy playing here. If they want to talk about something, if we can agree to something that we feel is fair, I’d be open to doing that. But as of right now, it looks like it’s going to be a year-to-year thing.”
IN four seasons in the big leagues, deGrom had proven his worth to the Mets. He has allowed 772 out of 2,747 hitters to reach base in his career, and he even picks up his teammates when they make a mistake that will enable a baserunner to reach base. He has only allowed 18 unearned runs in 680 2/3 innings.
deGrom is in the prime of his career, and you don’t want to have to spend when he’s on the backend of his prime. Spend the money now, and prove to the fans you want to make a long-term investment.
Next: Brewers land Christian Yelich
There’s a saying in poker, “Scared money doesn’t make money.” The Mets need to start investing in the team in order to put a product the fans can be proud of. It can begin with deGrom.