For the past half-decade, Jacob deGrom has been one of, if not the most dominant pitcher in all of baseball. In 645.1 innings over the past five seasons, deGrom has an ERA just over two and has struck out 12.2 batters per nine innings.
Though he has been dominant, the only problem for deGrom has been staying on the field. Over last two seasons, deGrom has made just 26 starts. The Mets ace missed more than half the season in 2022 with a stress reaction in his right scapula. This came after he missed the entire second half of 2021 with a UCL sprain and forearm tightness.
After a solid second half of 2022, Jacob deGrom officially became a free agent after opting out of the rest of his contract. deGrom has signaled that he is looking to become the highest-paid pitcher in baseball, which has become a dilemma for the Mets given the injury history. Despite this, the Mets are looking to bring him back but face steep competition throughout the league for his services.
If the Mets cannot bring back their star pitcher, there are many talented pitchers the Mets can bring in to take his place.
Sandy Alcantara
It might be tough to pry him away from a division rival but if the Mets were able to bring in the 2022 Cy Young winner to pair with Max Scherzer and potentially Chris Bassitt they would once again be instant World Series contenders. In order to bring in Alcantara the Mets would almost certainly have to part with their top two prospects, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. This is something the Mets were adamantly unwilling to do at the trade deadline but losing Jacob deGrom to free agency could potentially change that stance.
The Marlins ace might be worth the hefty asking price for the Mets as he is only 27 and entering his prime while still having multiple years left of team control.
Corbin Burnes
Over the past few months, the Brewers have moved both Josh Hader and Hunter Renfroe and will now have a new regime running the front office. It is unclear whether or not the Brewers are willing to move him given that they have been to the playoffs five straight seasons before missing out this season.
Like with Alcantara, the Mets would have to give up a ton to get Burnes and that doesn’t seem like a route the Mets would be likely to take.
Justin Verlander
Like a fine bottle of small-batch bourbon, Justin Verlander just keeps getting better with age. After coming off of Tommy John Surgery in 2021, Verlander, at age 39, pitched to an ERA of just over two and won the American League, Cy Young. If the Mets were to pick up Verlander they would have two legends and future hall of famers at the top of their rotation.
With that being said, the Mets might not be all that interested in paying top dollar for two pitchers in their late thirties. If that is the case, Verlander would not be an option for the Mets.
Kodai Senga
The latest phenom pitcher to come from the Japanese league goes by the name, Koudai Senga. Over the course of 11 seasons in the NPB, Senga pitched to a 2.59 ERA while striking out over 10 batters per nine innings.
Senga has drawn comparisons to Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka, and some of the other great pitchers to come from Japan in recent history.
There is already a lot of interest in Senga around the league so he may be a tough fish to reel in for the Mets especially since their early free agency focus will be on Jacob deGrom, and rightfully so.
Noah Syndergaard
Not too long ago it seems like, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard were starring as the Mets 1-2 punch on their way to an NL pennant. Seven years later, Syndergaard left New York on a one-year deal with the Angels as he recovered from Tommy John Surgery. Syndergaard ended up being traded at the deadline to the Phillies and is now a free agent once again.
In 2022, Syndergaard was solid but not great by any stretch. Syndergaard posted an ERA of just under four and his strikeout numbers were way down compared to years past. He did have the least number of walks in any full season throughout his career with 31. Syndergaard had great control but just lacked that nasty put-away pitch he had before his injury which led to more hits and runs against his record.
Carlos Rodon
After struggling through injuries and unrealized expectations early in his career, Carlos Rodon finally put it all together in 2021. In his last season with the White Sox, Rodon was an All-Star and finished with a 2.65 ERA and 185 strikeouts.
Due to a poor market because of his injury history, Rodon signed with the Giants on a two-year $44 million contract with an opt-out after the first year. In 2022, Rodon enjoyed a monster year with the Giants as he was an All-Star once again and posted a 2.25 ERA, and struck out 237 batters along the way.
Given that he would cost much less and he’s a lefty that the Mets could use in their rotation, Rodon would be a great fit for the Mets if they were to lose out on deGrom.
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