Evan Roberts initially experienced heartbreak and devastation when he heard that Jacob deGrom had signed with the Rangers on Friday night. But shortly after, sadness gave way to anger.
That anger stemmed from the belief that this kind of loss wasn’t supposed to happen anymore under owner Steve Cohen.
“When this guy bought the team, we had the belief that this would never happen,” Evan said on the latest Rico Brogna episode. “That even if it was an overpay, they will take care of their guys, and they won’t lose their guys. We won’t lose our guys.
“Forget about adding free agents. That’s great, that’s a luxury. But more than that, what happened with Zach Wheeler years ago wouldn’t happen. What happened with Jose Reyes a decade ago wouldn’t happen again...what happened to Tom Seaver or Darryl Strawberry wouldn’t happen again. There’s too much of this. It’s been littered in our history. Too many guys who could have been franchise icons leaving. I know it’s all for different reasons, I get it…but that was my hope, that this wouldn’t happen again.”
Instead, it has happened again, as the Mets have lost arguably the most dominant pitcher in franchise history (when healthy), and one of the final links to their 2015 National League pennant-winning squad. But with Cohen and his fat wallet and insatiable desire to win, a night like Friday wasn’t supposed to happen anymore, and instead, the Mets shot themselves in the foot by being too cute with how the deGrom sweepstakes unfolded.
“DeGrom not giving the Mets a last chance [to make another offer] is gonna be ample evidence to say that deGrom wanted out, and maybe he did,” Evan said. “But maybe the Mets shouldn’t have sat there with their fingers up their ass, not being aggressive in negotiating. What a concept! They were playing a dangerous game, and they got screwed, because they played the game.
“I don’t trust this franchise anymore. Why should we with the way this was handled? You had a franchise icon…and you effed it up.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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