Jacob deGrom is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and even with one of the other elite right behind him in Max Scherzer ready to step in for the Mets on Opening Day, deGrom is, indeed, the straw that stirs the drink.
Just how important is deGrom to the Mets?
Well, as you might expect, news that deGrom will be shut down for a month and miss "significant time" seriously hurt his odds to win his third NL Cy Young…but according to PointsBet, the Mets' odds to win the NL dropped from +500 to +800, and their World Series championship odds went down a similar vig, from +1100 to +1400.
deGrom, who won the Cy in 2018 and 2019, went from +250 to +3300 on that tip as well, although perhaps Scherzer's went up now that he is the unquestioned ace for the first couple months, at least.
The righty was 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA in 92 innings over 15 starts last season, but what was shaping up to be one of the most dominant campaigns ever (and likely worthy of a third Cy in four years) was interrupted at the All-Star break, when deGrom was shut down due to forearm strain that lingered and ended up ending his season.
Still, he earned a ninth-place finish in the Cy Young voting just based on that first half, and the Mets and their fans have to hope he can have a similar effect whenever he returns in 2022.
Until then, the Mets have about a week to decide which of David Peterson or Tylor Megill will step into deGrom's spot in a rotation now fronted by Scherzer and also including Chris Bassitt, Cookie Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker.
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