Jacob deGrom Rumors: Star Believed to Be 'Pretty Likely to Leave' Mets in Free Agency

Jacob deGrom's time with the New York Mets may end this offseason.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Monday that there is some belief the right-hander "seems pretty likely to leave." It may come down to money, as Heyman wrote that there are "strong indications" the National League East team will not be the one to offer him a megadeal that is higher than Max Scherzer's record $43.3 million per year contract.

There is no questioning deGrrom's talent.

His resume includes two National League Cy Young awards, an NL Rookie of the Year, four All-Star selections and an ERA title. He is nearly unhittable when healthy and would be the ace for almost any staff in the entire league.

Yet the "when healthy" part is doing plenty of heavy lifting.

The 34-year-old may be somewhat past his prime and has struggled from a durability standpoint. He made 30 or more appearances four times in a five-year span from 2015 through 2019 but pitched in 12 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020, 15 games in 2021 and 11 games this past season.

Nobody knows better than the Mets how up-and-down life with deGrom can be as arguably the best pitcher in the league but also someone who struggles to stay healthy. After all, he has pitched with the team his entire career.

While his ERA jumped from 1.08 in 2021 to 3.08 in 2022, there were other impressive numbers in a small sample size this past season. He finished with a sparkling 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings, which are statistics that would put him in position to compete for another Cy Young if made across more starts.

DeGrom will surely command a major salary as a free agent this offseason, given his talent and what he can be when he is healthy.

But it seems like the Mets might not be the ones to pay it.