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The story for much of this offseason has been the lack of activity on the free agency and trade markets. The two biggest free agents, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, were on the market until the latest part of the offseason, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are still without jobs, and we just haven’t seen much action for the bulk of the offseason.
However, things have changed in recent weeks as we have started to see a trend towards players signing extensions with their current teams. From guys who were in the last year of their contracts to players who have yet to even play in the major leagues, we are seeing an unusually high number of contract extensions of high profile players. Whether this is a direct result of players struggling to cash in on their free agency, a potential work stoppage once the CBA ends, teams being more willing to shell some money out in order to avoid steep arbitration raises, or some combination of all of those things, it is interesting to see the shift away from players holding firm on doing everything they can to make it to the free agent market.
This morning, we have yet another extension in the final stages.
In summary, per multiple sources, the Mets and Jacob deGrom are in agreement on a five year contract extension, pending physical.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) March 26, 2019
DeGrom agreed to new, five-year, $137.5M contract with #Mets, sources tell The Athletic. Covering 2019 to ‘23 with club option for ‘24. Opt-out after ‘22. Deal first reported: @MartinoNYC.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 26, 2019
Jacob deGrom is coming off an excellent 2018 season which saw him post a stellar 1.70 ERA with 269 strikeouts in 217 innings on his way to claiming the NL Cy Young award. His future has been a hot topic with the changes in the Mets’ front office combined with the fact that he had two years left on his deal and that he is going to play most of the 2019 season at the age of 31.
Talk in recent days had started to shift toward deGrom receiving a contract extension and now it looks like it is a done deal assuming nothing strange comes up on his physical. Assuming the information out there is accurate, he will make, on average, $27.5 million per year and still has the option of opting out after the 2022 season. This deal also works for the Mets as it locks up their ace as they look to contend over the next few seasons and gives them some added value with the club option tacked on to the end of the deal.