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New York Mets: Jacob deGrom should tell the Mets to pay him

By Alex Jordan

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: Pitcher Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning of a game at Citi Field on July 11, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Phillies 3-0 in 10 innings. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: Pitcher Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning of a game at Citi Field on July 11, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Phillies 3-0 in 10 innings. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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While New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom wants to stay with the Mets, his agent says the blue and orange need to pay up or trade up.

As we get closer to the MLB trade deadline, there are questions as to what the New York Mets will do. Will they trade Jacob deGrom and/or Noah Syndergaard or do something else?

There have been talks about whether or not the Mets would or should trade deGrom and/or Syndergaard, who are their two best pitchers. deGrom would like to stay with the Mets long-term. However, complications recently arose in the situation.

“I would love to play here for my whole career,”deGrom told Danny Abriano of SNY. “I think it’s just kind of deciding what we see as the future. It’s something that’s in the Mets’ control, and kind of out of mine.” 

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“We’ve been open to discussing long-term deals with the Mets. There’s been no numbers discussed, and I’ve enjoyed my time here,” the Mets ace told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “I would love it to be here with the Mets. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

deGrom is probably the best pitcher being circulated in trade talk. However, the Mets shouldn’t trade him. Instead they should give him a long-term deal. deGrom himself needs to make that very clear too.

The Mets need to pay deGrom and give him a long-term deal. Trading him isn’t an option, even though some people think it is. Trading deGrom simply means losing one of your best pitchers.

Losing one of your best pitchers means losing even more games. The Mets are 8-11 in deGrom’s 19 starts. If they do trade him, the number of games the Mets will lose will continue becoming larger than the number they win.

Another reason why trading deGrom isn’t an option is there are not a lot of good starting pitchers on the market right now. Who could the Mets get if they were to trade deGrom? Probably not someone who is good.

deGrom’s agent Brodie Van Wagenen sent a message to the Mets on Monday: either pay deGrom or trade him.

Van Wagenen told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:

"“We have discussed Jacob’s future with the Mets at length. Jacob has expressed interest in exploring a long-term partnership that would keep him in a Mets uniform for years to come, if the Mets don’t share [the] same interest, we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now. The inertia of [the] current situation could complicate Jacob’s relationship with the club and creates an atmosphere of indecision.”"

deGrom is signed through the end of this season and has two years of arbitration left. That means that the  Mets have the ace is under team control until after the 2020 season. He is making $7.4 million this season, which makes him an attractive trade target for teams.

This season the “deGrominator” is 5-4 with 1.68 ERA, which is the best in the majors. He also has 149 strikeouts.

Entering the All-Star break, the Mets are 39-55, which is the second worst record in the National League.

Last month, the Mets assistant general manager John Rico said that the team wasn’t looking to trade deGrom or Syndergaard, but said that “everything is on the table.”

Trading deGrom would be the wrong move for the Mets. deGrom is one of their best pitchers and trading him would make things worse, not better. The Mets are struggling right now and trading deGrom would mean the struggling would continue, not end.

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The Mets will be better off giving deGrom a long-term deal. That would help much more than being in a situation where they have to trade him.

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