Jacob deGrom announced earlier this offseason that he was giving the Mets until Opening Day to negotiate an extension to his contract. After Opening Day, deGrom doesn’t want to discuss a new contract until the offseason.

Lots of media pundits spun this as deGrom pulling a Matt Harvey-esque hissy fit over not getting extended before showing up to St. Lucie. That’s not what this was. Jacob deGrom was asking the Mets to handle this now, so they can focus on other important things like, I don’t know…. winning? Perhaps that?

As we know, Jacob deGrom plays for the New York Mets. The New York Mets are very bad at baseball. This is an established fact. The New York Mets are unable to get out of their own way in the regular season. Jacob deGrom refused to allow that to happen when he took the mound in 2018. It was only when he was removed from games, that he struggled to win games. In his 32 starts, Jacob deGrom only gave up 3+ runs in 5 of those games.

Let that sink in. deGrom only gave up 3 or more runs in 5 starts last year. That’s insane. Actually insane.

So, in the remaining 27 games, Jacob deGrom received 2 or fewer runs in support of his efforts over 12 games, going 0-7. Rough. However, deGrom only gave up 16 runs in those 12 games. That’s 1.3 runs a game where the Mets scored 2 or fewer runs.

If there’s a dark mark on deGrom’s 2018, it’s his record. The common fan would look at a pitcher with a 10-9 record and say “he’s not that good,” where the more advanced fan of the game would say “record doesn’t matter.” Regardless, Jacob deGrom brought the Cy Young back to Queens for the first time since 2012.

And he deserves to be paid for it.

And he did.

Here’s a live look at me this morning:

Earlier in the offseason, I mentioned that there were two options for the Mets.: extend deGrom for three years or five years.

“A three year, $110 million deal gets the Mets and deGrom through the 2019 season, when he’ll turn 33. The $36.6 million AAV, would make deGrom the highest paid pitcher in the league per year, which is always a nice thing to add to your resume. As of right now, the Mets only have around $20 million on the books, so they could still take on additional years were they to offer deGrom a larger contract.

Which brings us to five years for $150 million.

This is an overpay unless the last two years become team options. The Mets can assume that deGrom isn’t going to have a sub-2.00 ERA every year, so shelling out $150 million for deGrom’s services after his Cy Young season seems… extremely reactionary. “

I was just twenty million off, you guys. So close.

And if you’re sitting there saying “this is something the Mets should worry about next year”, that “they shoulda waited to see how he declines in 2019,”…sure. You’re absolutely right. They could. But the longer the Mets waited, the more deGrom would have cost, and the more risk they’d take in the later years of the deal. Extending deGrom now is the way to go.

At the end of the day, Jacob deGrom joined the company of Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver, as the only Mets to win Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards while in Queens. Those two get high praise, and are cemented in Mets history forever. deGrom is no different.

The Mets need to pay Jacob deGrom. They need him to stay in Queens. He’s part of our past, present and now, he’s a part of their forseeable future.

God Bless You, Jacob. You sweet, strike throwing boy.