New York Mets, Jacob deGrom Agree on 5-Year, $137M Extension
By Manny Gómez
After weeks of deliberations, the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom have finally come to terms on a 5-year, $137M extension. Here’s all you need to know.
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom have finally agreed to a deal. Here are the specifics:
DeGrom agreed to new, five-year, $137.5M contract with #Mets, sources tell The Athletic. Covering 2019 to ‘23 with club option for ‘24. Opt-out after ‘22. Deal first reported: @MartinoNYC.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 26, 2019
The deal will pay deGrom $27.5M AAV, which is lower than the extension Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox recently agreed to.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Sale and deGrom are 29 and 30 respectively, which is relatively similar. However, deGrom has four fewer years of work under his belt since he debuted in 2014, while Sale emerged in 2010.
All things considered, both pitchers feature similar career stats.
- Chris Sale: 2.89 ERA | 144 ERA+ | 2.86 FIP | 1.03 WHIP
- Jacob deGrom: 2.67 ERA | 144 ERA+ | 2.81 FIP | 1.07 WHIP
It’s really no surprise that New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom sent shockwaves through MLB when he announced that he would limit his innings in 2019 if the team didn’t negotiate an extension with him. In his mind, he’s been the best starter in the rotation and, perhaps even, in the National League.
Last season, deGrom pitched to an MLB low 1.70 ERA, while also posting a career-low 216 ERA+ and 1.99 FIP. The season was something of an anomaly in MLB since his domination on the mound didn’t translate to wins in his record.
In fact, deGrom’s record last season was a mere 10-9, leading sports analysts like Michael Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption to declare that deGrom didn’t deserve the NL Cy Young award he won last season.
The fact of the matter is, deGrom’s record was more of a reflection of the Mets than it was of his individual performance. You see, the team only managed to score 3.7 runs in deGrom starts. Compared to other elite pitchers with a heftier win-loss total, that’s quite bad.
- Rick Porcello – 7.1 RS | Record: 17 – 7
- Luis Severino – 6.3 RS | Record: 19 – 8
- Corey Kluber – 6.7 RS | Record: 20 – 7
- Gerrit Cole – 5.9 RS | Recored: 15 – 5
Similar to the New York Mets being responsible for deGrom’s record, they too were responsible for this extension taking so long. deGrom has done everything he can to prove that he is worthy of taking the mantle of the ace of the staff, it was the Mets’ turn to return the favor.
Next. Breaking Down the Best Opening Day Matchups. dark
It’s about time that they did.