Rangers payroll cuts have Mets fans naturally discussing a Jacob deGrom trade

The Texas Rangers didn’t defend their 2023 World Series title as admirably as they had hoped. A year where if all you did was look at the pitching stats, you’d think they could have achieved what the New York Mets did and made the playoffs.

The Rangers are reportedly now looking to slash the payroll. As Mets fans naturally will, they’ve gravitated toward thoughts of trading for Jacob deGrom.

Which line of this Mets fan fence do you fall on?

There are those who want him back with some rationalization:

Then there are those who don’t with a case of their own:

What about the ones who reveal nothing at all about their inner most desires?

Maybe this isn’t a line in the sand drawn between wanting deGrom back or not. A no-trade clause in his contract pretty much nixes the thought entirely, unless of course deGrom does exactly what Max Scherzer did in 2023 and waives it.

Debating the merits of whether or not the Mets should pursue something as circular as bringing deGrom back isn’t much fun. It’s all preference. Each of us understands what he was and has been with the Rangers. It all comes down to whether or not he can be healthy again in the future and no one can answer that.

But at least for a few hours on Friday this gave us a break from social media’s onslaught of other bad Mets trade ideas. Lurk around long enough and you’ve probably seen some of the same headscratchers. If anything in life seems too good to be true, it probably is. A mock trade of any magnitude has to have some sting to it.

The Rangers already have a lot of salary coming off of the books without needing to hit the reset button on deGrom. A sunk cost at the worst or a hero who’ll join them on horseback this season and live up to his contract, we can all picture each of the extremes.

Mets baseball ended less than a week ago. It’s going to be a long offseason on social media. Whatever you truly think about deGrom, let’s all agree to make a wish we don’t see one particular scenario come true.