New contract prediction hints Mets could keep Jacob deGrom?

There's yet another hint that the New York Mets could re-sign ace Jacob deGrom via a reasonable deal. 

For a piece published Wednesday morning, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel predicted that deGrom will put pen to paper on a three-year contract worth around $132 million and that carries an average annual value of $44 million. To compare, Max Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets last offseason. 

"What I'm projecting here is that he nominally tops Scherzer, sets a new AAV record, then gets a vesting option for the fourth year at a healthy rate (let's say $40 million) if he throws 130 innings or so in the third year of the deal," McDaniel wrote of deGrom. "I'd guess that option comes with no buyout, but deGrom gets the same opt-out after the second year that Scherzer got in his deal. If deGrom wants to maximize guaranteed money, I think he could get four years for about $150-160 million." 

McDaniel shared his thoughts a day after SNY's Andy Martino reported that the Mets will make a "strong" early offer for deGrom but remain "hesitant to offer four years if another team offered four years at a very high number," likely due to his injury history. Specifically, deGrom made just 26 regular-season starts over the past two campaigns and dealt with lingering elbow issues in 2021 and a stress reaction in the scapula of his pitching shoulder this year. 

Later on Tuesday, Phillip Martinez of SNY noted that Mets general manager Billy Eppler sounded "very optimistic about the team's upcoming negotiations with deGrom" while speaking with media members at the GM meetings in Las Vegas.

"I think there's a good deal of interest there on his part," Eppler said of the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner. "That was articulated a number of times throughout the season and reiterated in our most recent conversation."

Eppler also said he and deGrom's camp "want to stay in communication with each other and to be very transparent with each other" regarding negotiations. Along with the Mets, the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers continue to be mentioned as potential landing spots for deGrom after he opted out of his contract. 

"The real question here is if owner Steve Cohen has deGrom's name in the 'don't lose under any circumstances' category or not," McDaniel explained about the Mets. Talks could also come down to whether or not deGrom wishes to continue calling New York his baseball home. 

Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, deGrom's former teammate, and Mets outfielder Mark Canha both said this fall that the right-hander is happy with the Mets but wants to be compensated for his worth at this stage of his career.