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4 best free agent Jacob deGrom replacements if he leaves this offseason
The new Freddy Kreuger movie doesn’t take place on Elm Street. It takes place at 41 Tom Seaver Way and the plot revolves around Jacob deGrom opting out of his contract with the New York Mets and then pitching for another team.
It’s a scenario Mets fans aren’t eager to see potentially play out. Although some have accepted this possibility, it would be a sour ending to his time in New York.
Fortunately, this winter’s free agent class of starting pitchers is pretty good even without including deGrom and other players with opt-outs; although I have included one likely to use his on this list. The Mets have deGrom, Taijuan Walker, and Chris Bassitt all probably headed toward free agency. Where could the Mets possibly turn to replace one of their greats and maybe even the other pair?
1) NY Mets can replace Jacob deGrom with Mike Clevinger
There are a couple of pitchers on the Padres the Mets could look at. Some would require a trade. A guy like Sean Manaea would be a big enough downgrade from deGrom for him to not make this list. Mike Clevinger, on the other hand, fits the description we’re looking for.
Best known for his days in Cleveland, Clevinger missed all of 2021 due to injury and is working his way back into the San Diego rotation this year. He has done a fine job at it. It seems he has picked up right where he left off.
Clevinger has had a much more productive career than Musgrove but there is something important to note: health. He missed all of the 2021 season due to Tommy John Surgery. With his 32nd birthday on the way in December, he’s a little older than Musgrove and maybe not quite as ready to give more awesome years. His best days may have already passed.
However, Clevinger might be a consideration on a shorter deal. If he can continue to stay on the field for the Padres this year, he’d be a more affordable option than someone like Musgrove whose age begs for something at least close to a five-year deal.
There’s no doubt Clevinger is in a position to earn himself a big payday in the coming offseason as long as he pitches well in the regular season and possibly even into October.
2) NY Mets can replace Jacob deGrom with Tyler Anderson
Has Tyler Anderson figured things out or is he just having a case of playing in the right environment? The veteran lefty is off to an amazing start with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. After playing for three teams in his previous two seasons, perhaps he has finally blossomed into the 20th overall pick he was meant to be.
Anderson’s career is a strange one because it started off with the Colorado Rockies. That’s never helpful for any pitcher. Unable to master Coors Field, he has bounced around after the 2019 season without much success. This has changed a lot in 2022 as he’s making a case for a nice multi-year contract next year.
Anderson would hardly replace deGrom as directly as some of the other guys on this list would. One good year doesn’t make up for the mediocrity prior. However, in filling the open hole in the rotation, he could be a consideration on a lesser deal.
Our third December birthday on this list, he’ll turn 33 at the end of this year. We’d have to trust the Mets scouts to know whether or not Anderson truly is a guy to target in free agency or if what he is doing with the Dodgers this season is a limited-time offer.
3) NY Mets can replace Jacob deGrom with Carlos Rodon
Hey, a third December birthday. Carlos Rodon will turn 30 in the final month of the year as he enters free agency for the second straight offseason. The lefty made great strides last season with the Chicago White Sox and continued to up the ante in 2022 with the San Francisco Giants.
Rodon has already reached the 110 innings needed to opt-out of his deal. Does he take the one-year $22.5 million or look for something a little longer? Given how high in-demand starting pitchers are, we’d have to guess he could at least get a multi-year contract worth the same or close to it.
Rodon’s biggest issue has been staying on the field. But as we’ve seen with just about everyone on this list and experienced with deGrom in recent years, starting pitchers just aren’t as durable as they were once built.
In the most recent offseason, Rodon was a guy the Mets likely considered adding to the roster. They, instead, went with free agent Max Scherzer and a trade for Chris Bassitt.
Rodon could easily be another one of those starting pitchers whose best years take place while in his early 30s. He’s someone the Mets should be monitoring this year and once the offseason shopping spree begins.
4) NY Mets can replace Jacob deGrom with Jameson Taillon
Aaron Judge probably won’t sign with the Mets. What about Jameson Taillon? A Yankees teammate of Judge, he’s a free agent after this season. Could he end up trading in his pinstripes for blue and orange?
Taillon has been a winner for the Yankees this year. And while certainly not in the same stratosphere as deGrom, he could be a guy the Mets view favorably. There is no worrying about him not being a “New York” guy. The transition would be easy. He just needs to figure out the subway system.
Yet another one of those highly-hyped pitchers whose results haven’t been quite there in part due to injuries, he’s also one of the ex-Pirates who have performed much better since leaving Pittsburgh. That list only seems to grow each year. At least they have a beautiful ballpark.
Taillon is a bit of an outlier with the pitcher on this list as he celebrates his birthday in mid-November. He’ll turn 31 then which makes him a candidate for something closer to a three or four-year deal.
Like everyone else on this list, replacing deGrom might be a futile effort. But what if the Mets load up with two of them? That would be the Steve Cohen move to make.
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