Report: Mets didn't get chance to match Jacob deGrom's contract

Jacob deGrom defected to the Rangers and got an eye-popping contract. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Mets didn't get opportunity to match Jacob deGrom's contract with Rangers

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 12/2/22

The Texas Rangers made a huge splash only two days ahead of baseball's Winter Meetings, inking free-agent pitcher Jacob deGrom to a reported five-year, $185 million contract.

How deeply the Mets were involved in negotiations with deGrom is unclear. However, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets didn't get an opportunity to match the Rangers' offer for deGrom.

The Mets never got to a final offer with Jacob deGrom, according to a source.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) December 3, 2022

The Mets may not have wanted to meet or surpass the Rangers' offer if presented, but it also questions deGrom's willingness to stay in New York.

Mets owner Steve Cohen didn't comment on the negotiations but wished deGrom well in a statement via SNY's Andy Martino, adding, "now this team has to move on to the next thing."

According to Puma, the Mets view deGrom signing early as a "positive" because it gives the team more time to shop for options to replace deGrom in the rotation. After Steven Matz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals a year ago, this is the second offseason in a row the Mets have lost a significant piece of their rotation. Last offseason, they responded by signing Max Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million deal.

We'll have to wait and see what the Mets do now without deGrom, but since free agency began, the Mets have already had contact with several starters, including 2022 AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, who Martino says is now "front and center for Mets."

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