Mike Piazza knows what it’s like to sign the richest contract in baseball history.
He did just that with the Mets in 1998, after New York pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire the star catcher, signing Piazza to a seven-year, $91 million deal, which at the time was the largest deal ever signed in the history of the sport.
Now, Jacob deGrom could be seeking to make financial history of his own in signing a deal that could carry a higher AAV than the deal Max Scherzer signed with the Mets last offseason.
Piazza isn’t sure which direction deGrom is currently leaning, if any, but hopes he remains in Queens despite recent injury issues.
“I learned as a player, you do have to make a decision that you feel is best for your career,” Piazza said on SNY. “I hope he takes that all into account and realizes what he has here and how much he’s loved here.
“I think it’s tough to predict. We don’t know what he’s going through and all the feelings and anxieties and sentiments…you just have to make the best offer you can and hope he wants to stay, because there has to be a little bit of a giving on both sides.”
DeGrom is the Mets’ homegrown superstar, the best at his position when healthy, just like Piazza was in his prime. The team has an owner with the motivation, and the finances, to get a deal done, and Piazza hopes it will happen, even as some Mets fans have turned on the oft-injured ace.
“He’s an amazing guy. I think Mets fans should really treasure what he’s done up to this point, and going forward, healthy, if he stays, what he can contribute,” Piazza said. “I do believe he has a lot left in the tank.
“Health is important of course…I pray that he stays, but it remains to be seen.”
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