New York Mets: 3 awesome things about the Jacob deGrom extension
Sends consistent message.
The deGrom extension quickly becomes a major part in new Mets General Manager Brodie Van Waganen walking the walk when he said he wanted to build a long, sustainable, winning team when he first started.
In the simplest form, the Mets are a better team and a part of their future is deGrom. He has literally almost done nothing wrong since he got the call up to the big leagues. So, keeping deGrom all but says that he knows deGrom is a major part of building that culture.
But, there is even more to it. Look at what the deGrom extension does for some one like Pete Alonso. If he makes the 25 man roster on Opening Day, the Mets lose that year of control. They are proving that they don’t care about being cheap anymore. They paid deGrom, they are going to let Alonso ride it out, all future expenses be damned.
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It shows that Van Waganen means it when he says it. He wants the Mets to win. The Mets are going for it now and intend to remain going for it in the future. deGrom getting the deal keeps him happy now while ensuring he is here for the future. It shows they are not worried about Alonso either, because both things help them now.
Also, look at the rest of the Mets pitching staff. Noah Syndergaard has been very vocal about his displeasure with the Mets and some stuff lately, now he can see deGrom getting paid after having a great season to give him even more incentive to do so himself.
This could even impact Zack Wheeler too. He is on a walk year. Now the Mets do not have a deGrom value to worry about, they know what it is. The Mets can know exactly what they can and cannot afford to throw at Wheeler, should he impress this season.
There are a lot of guys in that clubhouse, at least I would assume, that should be encouraged by this. The GM talked a big game, but he is backing it up. Paying deGrom to be the de-facto leader of this team in the process, that’s another thing this price tag does. The Mets are the only team in the NL whose leader is the current Cy Young.