Jacob deGrom promised to tell Buck Showalter “what really happened” with his Mets exit. And now he has, with The Post’s Jon Heyman serving as an intermediary.
The simple, short answer, according to him: Dollar dollar bills, y’all.
From The Post:
The chances to leave only started to lean that way, he said, as he got into free agency, and it quickly became clear that the Rangers — baseball’s other uber-aggressive team, only behind the Mets and Padres — made their feelings known early. DeGrom’s $185 million contract reflected his greatness, and turned out to be more than 50 percent more than the Mets’ bid (which sources suggest wasn’t quite the $120 million that was reported, and closer to $100 million to $110 million).
Anyway, he portrayed it as a business call than anything personal. And considering the dollar gap, it’s hard to see how it could have turned out any other way.
“It’s free agency. You sit down and say I could see myself here, I could see myself there. Texas showed a ton of interest. Things got moving really, really quickly. And I said, I’m going to be a Texas Ranger,” deGrom said.
The Rangers paid more money (and play in a state with no income tax). That does not sound like an explanation that requires cryptic messaging, but what do we know. DeGrom also pushed back on the perception he was unhappy with the Mets in the interview, saying “part of me thought I’d be back,” and that his decision to go public about his opt-out plans so early was in part to project confidence in his health. So there you go. Onward and upward.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
