3 Mets players with the most to gain down the stretch

3) NY Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom has a lot riding on this season

Jacob deGrom needs to prove one thing to everyone and that’s his health. If he can do that, his opt-out could reward him with a lot of money.

Beyond just a contract, a superb finish for deGrom can push him further up the ladder as one of the game’s greatest pitchers. We often gloat about the kind of numbers deGrom puts up but ten years after he retires it may finally sink in just how amazing his career was.

A late start, some injuries, and awful run support have done a lot of damage to deGrom’s list of accomplishments. Playing for some bad teams hasn’t helped much either. In a time period where more teams than ever before are making the postseason, it’s a shame he has only gone through one trip to the playoffs. That’ll change in 2022.

An epic postseason from deGrom might be one more notch for the Mets ace to build up what will become an interesting Hall of Fame case in another decade or so. deGrom lacks wins, innings, and a couple other statistics that compile. The other things, like ERA and strikeouts per nine, are right there with the greats or even better.

deGrom’s legacy is what’s at stake most for him. He’s going to get paid a lot by someone. Money cannot, however, buy a player a spot in Cooperstown.