In the immediate moments following the Mets’ wild card elimination by the San Diego Padres, the mood in the clubhouse wasn’t exactly angry. Members of the Mets seemed more shocked and saddened to be leaving one another for a longer winter than anticipated. They clapped one another on the back with dazed looks, wondering how a group that won 101 games couldn’t advance past the first round of the playoffs.
There was little sense of finality as this tight-knit group all expected to be heading to Los Angeles for the NLDS. But that sense should creep in any day now as the NLDS begins and the next time they all see one another, several will be in different uniforms.
“It hurts. To be honest, it hurts,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “It’s not just the losing. It’s about the disbanding of the group.”
The Mets could have up to 15 free agents this winter, 13 of which were key contributors to the 2022 team. A few have expressed a desire to return, and owner Steve Cohen has said he will do what needs to be done to keep Jacob deGrom. But it’s unclear if money is what he’s looking for.
Let’s take a look at deGrom and the other starting pitchers to see where they could fit into the Mets’ future plans.
Starting pitchers: Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassitt (mutual option for 2023)
The Mets took a chance on a college shortstop-turned-pitcher in the ninth round of the 2010 draft. Five years later, he was pitching in the World Series. But deGrom’s best years came when the rest of the team was a mess and it became a running joke that the Mets couldn’t hit when the two-time Cy Young Award winner was on the mound.
During spring training, deGrom announced his intention to opt out of the final two years of his contract with $63 left on the deal. He’s entering his age-35 season with a checkered injury history. He had Tommy John surgery earlier in his career and ulnar nerve transposition surgery in 2016. More recently, he missed time with forearm, elbow, neck and back tightness, and a stress reaction in his scapula. He pitched only 64 1/3 innings last season, the fewest amount of his career and a far cry from the days when he said he wanted to make 30 starts and throw more than 200 innings. But he’s still the best pitcher in the game when healthy.
It’s tough to know what deGrom is considering when making this decision because he has declined to talk about it. He doesn’t seem to care about getting a record deal. It has long been thought that he has a desire to be closer to his Florida home. A smaller market and a better lineup could be attractive for him, and the Atlanta Braves, his childhood team, have been linked to him in rumors.
But for now, it’s all just that — rumors. The Mets are more stable than ever right now and he could decide he wants to keep the band together for a little longer.
“Buck [Showalter] was great. I enjoyed being around Max [Scherzer], [Chris] Bassitt, everybody,” deGrom said Sunday night. “Just a great group of guys to be around.”
Bassitt has a mutual option for $19 million with a $150,000 buyout if either side declines. He’ll be 34 next season so opting out is a risk, but he has shown no signs of slowing down, having posted career highs in innings pitched (181 2/3) and starts (30). But he did have some trepidation when it came to playing in New York, so he may feel more comfortable in another market.
“In my opinion, there isn’t a harder city in our country to play a sport. New York is an absolute just gauntlet every night,” Bassitt said over the weekend. “So mentally I kind of thought I was mentally tough enough to handle New York, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be playing for a team like the Mets, just because I’ve kind of proven to myself, ‘OK you can handle it. You can handle the scrutiny. You can handle the boos. You can handle all that stuff.’”
Carrasco had a bounce-back season and was a fairly dependable starter this season. Walker was as well, making 29 starts and posting a 3.49 ERA.
However, both right-handers are in their 30s and the Mets might want to get younger. Showalter has acknowledged that David Peterson and Tylor Megill are looking to step into the rotation soon.