New York Mets Renew Jacob deGrom’s Contract After Impasse

The New York Mets have signed All-Star pitcher Jacob deGrom to a $607,000 deal for the 2016 season, according to FOX Sports. deGrom refused to sign his original deal in protest of his assigned salary, but since he is not arbitration-eligible yet, deGrom had no choice but to accept it.

deGrom, 27, has enjoyed a bevy of success through his first two seasons with the Mets, winning Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and following it up by making his first All-Star team in 2015. While FOX Sports notes that deGrom is receiving a nine percent increase over his 2015 salary ($556,875), he and his agents felt that $607,000 did not reflect his talent and past accomplishments.

“We respect the Mets’ right to determine a pre-arbitration player’s salary and their effort to be consistent with their players,” said deGrom’s agent Brodie Van Wagenen, co-head of CAA Baseball in a statement. “But given Jacob’s standing as one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball and his 2015 performance, his worth cannot be properly valued by a formula. Like the Mets, he is simply exercising his rights under the [collective bargaining agreement]. This will not affect Jacob’s relationship with the Mets. Both parties are focused on preparing for the season and getting the Mets back to the World Series.”

Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson defended the team’s offer to deGrom, describing their system as a “fairly straight-forward approach to determining salaries.” However, speaking on behalf of himself and the Mets’ organization, Alderson said: “we respect Jacob’s right to take a renewal if that’s what he feels and is best in his interest and we’ll move on from there.”

deGrom appeared on the scene in 2014, surprising a Mets organization that had nearly written him off as an elite prospect. In 22 starts during his rookie season, deGrom went 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA through 140-and-one-third innings en route to a Rookie of the Year award.

Last year, deGrom went 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA in 191 regular season innings, helping lead the Mets to their first World Series since 2000. deGrom went 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four postseason starts, suffering that lone loss in Game 2 of the World Series. Nonetheless, deGrom’s performance, as mentioned by Van Wagenen, has been comparable to some of MLB’s best pitchers — something deGrom and his representatives took into consideration.

“That’s the business side of the game,” deGrom said to reporters, including Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. “That’s why I hired my agents. I feel like I have some of the best in the business, and it’s a business decision that we decided to make. We have great respect for the Mets and the system they have, and I feel like we have a great relationship with them. As I’ve said before, I love playing here and I want to be in this uniform for a long time. It was just a decision based on the business side of the game.”

Per Baseball Reference, deGrom currently has one year and 139 days of service time. Therefore, he will become arbitration-eligible for the first time after next offseason, at which point he should have four years or arbitration eligibility as a Super 2 player. He would then go through the arbitration process four times before becoming a free agent after the 2020 season.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace pitcher Gerrit Cole went through a similar situation recently. He rejected a lowball offer from the Pirates, feeling his three years of All-Star-caliber production were not reflected in his salary.

In deGrom’s case, the hard-throwing righty insists that this situation will not impact his relationship with the Mets. In fact, while discussions haven’t been held, deGrom is open to discussing a multi-year extension with the team.

“We haven’t talked about anything yet. I don’t think this will affect that in any way. I think we’re still open to discussions for long-term things. Nothing is in the works now.”

[Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]