Mets' Mark Canha: Jacob deGrom 'told me he wanted to stay and I am sure he did'

New York Mets outfielder Mark Canha is standing by previous comments he made about ace Jacob deGrom. 

"I was being truthful: Jake told me he wanted to stay and I am sure he did," Canha told Mike Puma of the New York Post days after it was learned deGrom signed a five-year deal with the Texas Rangers. "But free agency is such an interesting thing because you go into it thinking one thing and you kind of have to, even your own thoughts, you have to take with a grain of salt because you have to react to what the market is telling you and I think that is what he did. 

"It didn’t surprise me having gone through the process last year. You have expectations, but you can’t really have expectations because you have no idea what is going to happen and what other people are thinking."

Canha insisted in early November that deGrom "told me he wants to come back" and that the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner had built "a really good friendship" with fellow ace Max Scherzer and also Chris Bassitt. Back in late October, Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler noted that his former teammate told him "he is happy" with the Mets. 

What's interesting about such claims is that SNY's Andy Martino reported Friday night that "deGrom never gave the Mets the chance to make a last, best offer" before he agreed ahead of the weekend to join the Rangers. 

"By the time we heard from him, he was so down the road with Texas, it was happening," one Mets source informed Martino. 

Meanwhile, the Mets responded to deGrom's departure by landing three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander via a two-year, $86.66 million deal that includes a vesting third-year option.

"You love to see it," Canha said about that acquisition. "At least on my end when Jake goes to the Rangers you are thinking, 'There’s only so many aces out there and the numbers are getting smaller.' It felt like we had to make a move quickly and I’m sure the front office kind of felt that pressure too and they made it happen, which is awesome to see." 

It's believed the Mets aren't done at least exploring other significant offseason splashes ahead of Christmas Day.