Photo: Ed Delany, Metsmerized Online
The Texas Rangers do not like their prospects of signing Jacob deGrom, relative to other starting pitchers on the market says The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
At this point in free agency the Rangers are more confident in landing former Giant Carlos Rodon and Japanese righty Kodai Senga than deGrom or Justin Verlander. The market for the Mets ace is closing in on just the Mets but do not rule out a potential interest yet to be reported.
Rosenthal mentions the Dodgers as a team to watch for. He states “the Dodgers, in particular, relish the type of short-term, high-dollar deal deGrom is likely to command.”
The Dodgers have plenty of money coming off the books for next season. They only have an estimated $130.5 million committed for 2023 and only $90 million for 2024. DeGrom will certainly garner interest from the top team in the National League for the last decade.
DeGrom is the Mets primary focus in free agency. They’ve checked in with every top starter on the market like Senga, Verlander, and Rodon but they are committed to re-signing their ace and two-time Cy Young Award winner.
A free agent the Mets don’t seem as committed to is Brandon Nimmo. The center fielder is a client of Scott Boras. The Dodgers haven’t signed a veteran free agent client of his since 2012. Rosenthal lists shortstop Carlos Correa, Rodon, and Nimmo as the clients of the mega-agent Los Angeles could pursue.
With the winter meetings set to being soon, expect to hear a lot more about rumored interest in certain players. DeGrom, Verlander, and Aaron Judge are the top three names on the market. The Mets hope at least one of them is wearing blue and orange next season.
