Buck Showalter raised some eyebrows last month when he told NJ.com that a conversation he had with Jacob deGrom seemed to suggest there was more to the story when it came to the Mets ace bolting for Texas in free agency.
“I just talked to him the other day,” Showalter had told Bob Klapisch. “He said, “someday I’d like to sit down with you and explain what really happened. I really thought I’d be back there.’”
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, Showalter said that comment had gotten take out of proportion by many.
“Somebody was saying that Jake’s got some deep thing…that got blown out,” Showalter said. “I said Jake said we’ll talk sometime, just want to bring closure, next thing I know, there was some secret story. That’s not the case. That’s not what he said, but somebody ran with that thing.”
Showalter’s initial comments seemed to suggest deGrom wanted to stay in New York, but something during the free agency process swayed him to sign with the Rangers, but Showalter says it is all much ado about nothing.
“That’s not the case at all, so everybody can stop talking about that,” Showalter said. “He’s in a good place. I’m happy for him and his family.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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