Thor speaks.
Will the Mets listen?
Noah Syndergaard called out the club by declaring that they pay Jacob deGrom, at least way more than they are now. DeGrom, who just had one of the best seasons for a pitcher in a century, is slated to make $17 million this season.
But Thor pounded his hammer, chafed that the Mets don't just tear up deGrom's one-year deal and sign him to generational cash. Surely they noticed Chris Sale and Justin Verlander sign contract extensions worth well more than deGrom is getting in 2019. Verlander, 36, has a new deal that will make him $33 million a year. Sale, 29, will make just under $30 million per season. Though both are fantastic pitchers, neither is better than deGrom right now.
In fact, no one is. DeGrom, 30, somehow won the Cy Young Award despite the anemic bats behind him, despite historically bad run support, despite pitching on a team that could only get him 10 wins when he nearly tossed a full season without giving up more than three runs in a single game. It bears repeating. DeGrom started 32 games, pitched 217 innings, struck out 269 batters and posted a 0.91 WHIP and 1.70 ERA. While older fans may find sacrilege in the assertion, when you consider the new-age athlete and lower mound, deGrom's 2018 has to remind you of Bob Gibson's 1968.
So Syndergaard says pay the man. All fans can dig it. But we're often reminded of the meat-hook reality that baseball is a business. And while it pains you to look at things entirely from a Wilpon perspective, there's no legal compulsion to pay deGrom a dime more than he's getting. There are obvious benefits to paying their best pitcher, deGrom's comfort being one of them. If he knows he's making $150 million over the next five years, he can pour his heart into every pitch and not worry that he will morph into Matt Harvey -- an injury-addled star who never got his monster money. DeGrom wouldn't have to make a business decision after the sixth inning because, if he falls, he would land on a mattress of cash.
It also sends a message that these new Mets are willing to pay like a big-market club. It would tell other players -- most notably Syndergaard -- that there really is a pot of gold somewhere inside Citi Field. There would also be some sweet symbolism in deGrom signing a deal structured by his former agent, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. It would show that he still loves his players without weaponizing whatever personal knowledge he has on them.
If deGrom doesn't sign an extension, the Mets may be forced to place a pitch and innings limit on him. It makes the Mets look cheap and uncaring, and, no matter how misguided, some could find deGrom selfish for putting his future stats before that day's standings. And it would tell current and potential future players that they don't take care of their own.
Consider that you're hearing noise from several places, except from the pitcher himself. DeGrom not only throws like the best pitcher on the planet, he doesn't groan over the business end. If the Mets don't negotiate with deGrom, then why ever do it? The Mets drafted him, developed him and watched him blossom into a superstar. This is an MLB team's dream sequence.
This is a case study on the Mets' progress as a pro baseball team. When they snagged Van Wagenen, the Mets took on an edge, a new-world motif, a shift in appearance, and perhaps in production. DeGrom is in his prime pitching years. If you're worried about high wage at his age, just look at Verlander, or at R.A. Dickey, who won a Cy Young at 37 years old. (He threw a knuckleball, but still.)
Maybe the Mets have already offered deGrom a fair wage. Maybe they told him to take $17 million in 2019 and then $120 million over the following four seasons. Maybe deGrom demurred. Maybe the Mets have been wholly reasonable and deGrom is being a brat.
Hard to believe.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
