For those Mets fans who feel spurned by Jacob deGrom’s decision to quickly leave Queens for a big contract in Texas, well…take it from Jake himself: it wasn’t personal.
“It was never like, ‘I’m outta here,’” deGrom said Sunday in an exclusive interview with Audacy insider Jon Heyman for the New York Post. “You look at places you can see yourself playing. All I had known was New York, and part of me thought I’d be back.”
DeGrom talked to Heyman after throwing a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday, where Heyman said he “looked exactly like his usual brilliant self” and showed no ill effects from a left side issue that caused him to be shut down for a few days, looking like he’s on pace to be able to go on Opening Day.
Of course, that looked like the case last year, too, until a stress reaction in his scapula popped up just before the end of camp and cost him half a season – and that was something he lamented, as well as the juxtaposition of that issue with the knowledge that he planned to opt out of his contract after the season.
“I was feeling great until the scapula issue. Stress reaction to the scapula, who’s heard of that?” deGrom said. “If I don’t answer then every time I pitch I’m asked, well, do you know if you’re opting out. That was just so I would not have to answer that every five days. The plan was to go out and pitch healthy. It was never, hey, I’m opting out and leaving.”
DeGrom said he has had “a smooth transition” to Texas, but he once again insisted he was not upset with his contract status after the Mets signed Max Scherzer, and did not have it in his head that he was leaving well before signing with the Rangers.
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“That kind of got out. [But] I really enjoyed my time in New York,” deGrom said. “I saw something about that I was mad about that. I was never mad about that, because that was ultimately my decision to sign that. As a kid you never imagine making that. The goal was to play and to have fun. I was fortunate to sign that first contract in New York, so I was never really upset about that. That’s life-changing money. To say I was upset about it, that was nowhere close to being true.”
In the end, he said, it was business, as the Rangers let him know early they were interested, and the $185 million he got from Texas was a huge difference from the reported $120 million the Mets offered.
“I went out after I signed that (contract) and I tried to give my best every year. It was never like 100 percent I’m leaving here,” deGrom said. “It’s free agency. You sit down and say I could see myself here, I could see myself there. Texas showed a ton of interest. Things got moving really, really quickly. And I said, I’m going to be a Texas Ranger.”
But, he will always have a soft spot for Queens.
“I have friends that will be lifelong friends in New York. We still keep in touch with a lot of people,” he said. “That was all I knew for 13 years, including eight seasons in the big leagues. The fans and everyone were always great to me.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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