Jacob DeGrom Is About To Get Paid.
Jacob DeGrom is one of the most dominant starting pitchers we’ve ever seen. After a short 2022 season due to injuries, he is heading into free agency as he is opting out of his remaining two years with the New York Mets. DeGrom was set to make $30.5 million in 2023 from the Mets. However, it is clear that there is more money in the open market . It was expected that he was going to opt out of the remainder of his contract, but the real question is where will he end up and how much will he get paid?
Jacob DeGrom has set hall of fame level numbers so far in his nine year career with the Mets. In his career, DeGrom has a 2.52 ERA and 1607 strikeouts with a .998 WHIP. Along with these incredible numbers, he has collected two Cy Young awards. This past year, he put up a 3.08 ERA this past season over 11 starts and 64.1 innings pitched. Not as consistent with his other years, but still dominant in a shortened season.
Jacob DeGrom was joined in the Mets rotation this past year by fellow star pitcher, Max Scherzer. However, the two pitchers both rarely got to start one after another due to injuries. Scherzer himself battled an oblique injury which set him on the injured list twice in 2022. Max Scherzer signed a lucrative deal last winter with the Mets for $130 million over 3 years. DeGrom is projected to make more than Scherzer. This would make Jacob DeGrom the highest paid pitcher in history. He is currently projected to get $150 million over 3 years, which is a AAV of $50 million a year.
Who Are Some Possible Suitors for DeGrom?
The Texas Rangers have been expected to be one of the biggest bidders for DeGrom this offseason. The Rangers have been going through a rebuild in recent years, but have made it clear that they are ready to spend on pitching. The vision in there for Texas, they drafted the first overall pick in 2021 with Jack Leiter from Vanderbilt. And in this past draft, they drafted his former teammate and pitcher, Kumar Rocker. The focus on pitching seems to be the path for success for the Rangers, will DeGrom be the ace for the rotation of the future?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are always going to be big bidders on the biggest free agents every offseason. The way the Dodgers have set up their team in the past decade has made it so they are set up to pay anyone they want while also having one of the best farm systems in baseball. Not to mention, they are contenders every year. With Clayton Kershaw possibly exiting after a long and historic tenure with the Dodgers, they could be looking for their next cornerstone ace with Jacob DeGrom.
The New York Mets seem to be the favorites for locking up DeGrom. The Mets made a good run at a title this year and showed a lot of promise throughout the year. But in the final stretch of the season, lost first place in the NL East to the Atlanta Braves, and later got eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. Edwin Diaz has recently been signed after barely hitting free agency, so it’s clear that there is an urgency to bring back the key pieces to this pitching staff. Mets owner, Steve Cohen, is not shy of spending large amounts to get his players.
Is He Worth The Historically High Price Tag?
There is no clear landing spot for Jacob DeGrom. Of course, the Mets are the favorites, but DeGrom has never hit free agency before. Therefore, he will be free to hear offers from any team, and he will definitely get paid market value. The only real question left is: Is he worth $50 million a year? The numbers would say yes, as he is no doubt already a lock for the hall of fame. But the injuries say otherwise. There is no telling how he will be feeling come springtime, especially coming off a short season. But nonetheless, there are only a handful of teams who could even afford a pitcher worth $30 million a year let alone $50 million a year. It will be interesting to see how it goes now that the offseason has officially started.
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