Jacob deGrom is the type of pitcher that can maintain his focus through just about anything. His even-keel nature also makes it hard to truly ruffle his feathers in the midst of a start.

But still, if he and the New York Mets didn’t strike a deal on the five-year extension he just signed, nobody would blame him for having that in the back of his mind. I know it would’ve been in the back of my mind all year. Thankfully, when the reigning National League Cy Young winner takes the mound later today against Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals, he doesn’t have to worry about that.

This is a classic situation where the Mets would’ve screwed things up in the past (let’s be honest, that almost happened anyways). They didn’t, though, and this is one less situation the front office has to think about moving forward. DeGrom is the building block of a championship team, and it’s about time they paid him accordingly.

As news continued to leak out about the extension — whether it was through media reports or the press conference itself — I couldn’t help but notice three things in particular.

Passing of the Torch

In talking with SNY’s Steve Gelbs after the official part of the presser, Gelbs alluded to the fact that deGrom is now seen as the leader in New York’s clubhouse and the face of their franchise, taking over that role from David Wright. As if Wright coming back for one last game in September wasn’t enough of a ceremonial passing of the torch, he literally had a hand in getting Jake his well-deserved pay day:

Just when you didn’t think Wright’s impact wouldn’t be felt as much as it was when he was an active (and healthy) player. Praise the Lord for that man.

I’m sure everyone involved with these negotiations was aware not only how important deGrom is to the organization on the field, but also his importance to the organization when he’s not pitching every five days. The ride he’s been on thus far in his MLB career has been memorable, starting with winning the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year award kinda out of nowhere, two All-Star Game appearances, three top-10 finishes in Cy Young voting, one Cy Young, and one top-five finish in NL MVP voting.

When it comes to individual accolades achieved as a Met, deGrom is easily the most accomplished player on the roster. The fact that Wright was involved as much as he was is ironic, but this goes to another level upon hearing he was the driving force behind the structure of the contract.

It was another way of him saying, “Here — take this and run with it.”

That Dollar Amount

The total value (before accounting for deferred money) of deGrom’s deal immediately caught my eye. Giving a pitcher $137.5 million should feel familiar since it’s the exact number the Mets awarded Johan Santana upon acquiring him from the Minnesota Twins.

The situation with Santana and deGrom getting each of these contracts were very different, while Santana’s deal also had an extra year attached to it. Of course, both hurlers were up against a deadline with regard to getting something done — deGrom setting an Opening Day deadline, while New York needed to agree to an extension with Santana for their trade to actually go through.

Santana’s cumulative tenure with the Mets will likely be remembered more for health issues suffered than anything else, but we’ll always have June 1st, 2012 to hold onto. In my eyes, the entire contract was worth it for that one game (even though that’s probably a foolish way to think about it). Regardless of all the problems he faced toward the end of his contract, Santana will forever have a special place in the hearts of Mets fans. DeGrom already holds a similarly fond place in the hearts of Mets fans, but hopefully he can continue adding to it with memorable moments over the life of his deal.

A Different Kind of “Special” Treatment

Remember the last time the Mets produced a Cy Young winner before deGrom? Of course you do — it wasn’t too long ago when R.A. Dickey went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA, along with leading the league in innings pitched (233.2), strikeouts (230), complete games (five), and shutouts (three). But instead of holding onto the then 37-year-old, general manager Sandy Alderson decided to sell high by shipping him off to the Toronto Blue Jays that following offseason.

Travis d’Arnaud hasn’t exactly panned out as hoped thus far, but the inclusion of Noah Syndergaard in that deal has gone pretty OK.

This is ironic because some trade rumors did start swirling around deGrom during last year’s historic performance — heck, even Brodie Van Wagenen (the agent) said the Mets needed to extend him or trade him. Instead of trading yet another Cy Young award winner this decade, New York is making the (right) decision to build around him.

The Wilpons reportedly were hesitant about handing out another large contract, which does make some sense given the last few handed out of this magnitude (Santana, Wright, Yoenis Cespedes) haven’t really worked out. Thankfully, deGrom has a chance to change that perception.