New York Mets manager Buck Showalter has played down a comment he made last month about ace Jacob deGrom signing with the Texas Rangers in free agency.
“Somebody was saying that Jake’s got some deep thing…that got blown out,” Showalter told reporters on Tuesday, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. “I said Jake said we’ll talk sometime, just want to bring closure. Next thing I know, there was some secret story. That’s not the case. That’s not what he said, but somebody ran with that thing.”
While speaking with Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media in January, Showalter said that he was told by deGrom that “someday I’d like to sit down with you and explain what really happened” during the free-agency process. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner allegedly told Showalter he thought he’d stay with the Mets, and deGrom was heavily linked with a return to Queens hours before it was reported on Dec. 2 he and the Rangers agreed to a five-year, $185 million contract that includes a conditional sixth-year option that could increase the deal’s worth to $222 million.
Shortly after it was learned deGrom was heading to Texas, SNY’s Andy Martino reported that the 34-year-old “never gave the Mets the chance to make a last, best offer.” During deGrom’s introductory Texas press conference, he said that “the Rangers did a great job of constant communication and making me feel like they really wanted me here.”
On Tuesday, Showalter hinted there was no secret reason for why deGrom signed with the Rangers over the Mets.
“He’s in a good place. I’m happy for him and his family,” Showalter said about deGrom.
The Mets ultimately replaced deGrom with three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to chase more than just a playoff berth this year. Thus, it’s understandable Showalter would rather focus on the future than the past in the early days of spring training.
