I wish Jacob deGrom good luck. I really do. I wish for players to earn as much money as they can get. But I also see management’s side. Apparently the Mets would not commit to the contract length deGrom was seeking, although some accounts indicate the Mets were never given the chance to counter.
He may be a pitcher whose stats are off the charts in the modern era, but deGrom will also turn 35 at season’s start and is injury prone. Mets owner Steve Cohen did not make his billions by snap judgement, no matter how many Mets fans wanted him to pony up to give deGrom whatever he wanted. Five years for an injury-prone pitcher at 35 is not worth the risk. Remember, with deGrom and Scherzer the Mets were ousted after three games in the postseason. In other words, with their exorbitant payroll, the Mets played three more games in their season than the worst team in baseball.
So I understand why the Mets did not pony up. Even billionaires have a bottom line. And maybe it works out for Texas, which has had six straight losing seasons. Maybe the Lone Star State becomes the baseball universe with the Astros and Rangers. But the Mets are not losers in this, even though deGrom is gone and Mets fans are pained. Cohen now has millions more to plow into improving his club. And do not worry, Mets fans, he will spend it, all the while performing a balancing act between building a pennant winner and a perennial contender. Do not dispair.
