Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
In just a few days, the New York Mets will get their star pitcher back on the mound in a regular season game for the first time in roughly 13 months. As earlier today, Buck Showalter confirmed that Jacob deGrom will make his first start back on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. With the news of his return, also came some other news. News that has existed, but was further confirmed this afternoon. That being deGrom is still planning on opting out of his contract at year’s end.
DeGrom’s extension, that was signed back before the 2019 season, has a player option built in after this season. As mentioned above, deGrom is planning on utilizing this option as an opt out of the current deal that pays him about $27,500,000 annually. Despite the recent injury history, deGrom will likely certainly surpass this value in a new deal. Keep in mind, the highest paid pitcher in the league currently is his teammate, Max Scherzer, who is making $43,333,33 per season.
Of course, just because he plans to opt out does not mean it is a forgone conclusion he will not be back with the blue and orange. Though, the next few months of the season are going to be imperative for deGrom to secure this likely huge payday. And of course, the success of the Mets, who have World Series aspirations.
The thought of the deGrom in anything but a Mets’ uniform is a bizarre one. The 34-year-old’s success with New York over the past eight-plus seasons is well documented. This evident by the two Cy Young awards and the fact, when healthy, he is the best pitcher in baseball. This will certainly be a huge storyline this offseason surrounding the Mets
