The vaunted 2022 New York Mets rotation may look a bit different in 2023, depending on how the offseason goes.
Several of its components are scheduled to be free agents.
The most recent additions to the market are Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker.
“Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker have opted out of their contracts, as expected, according to the MLBPA,” Mets insider Mike Puma tweeted.
Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker have opted out of their contracts, as expected, according to the MLBPA.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) November 7, 2022
deGrom, who is 34 and finished the season healthy and in the rotation, is expected to get one of the highest deals in history in terms of average annual value (AAV).
deGrom’s Future Deal Will Likely Pay Him Close To $40 Million Per Year
He finished the year with a 3.08 ERA in 64.1 innings pitched, but his 2.13 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) indicates that the ERA should have been much, much lower if it wasn’t for his defense letting him down somewhat.
It’s also important to remember that he had a 1.08 ERA in 2021, in 92 innings.
deGrom will always have nagging injuries, but there will be plenty of teams willing to give him significantly more than $35 million per season (perhaps as high as $40 million, depending on the circumstances) because he will dominate when healthy.
As for Walker, he also had a solid 2022, with a 3.49 ERA in 157.1 innings.
He is obviously no deGrom, but he can be a solid mid-rotation stalwart for a contending team.
The Mets likely won’t be outbid for deGrom, and it’s easy to see why given they have MLB’s wealthiest owner and the pitcher has a desire to stay.
Queens remains his most likely destination, although we can’t rule out anything.
Walker could end up elsewhere depending on how the Mets’ offseason goes, but seeing him returning is also a plausible scenario.
NEXT: MLB World Reacts To The Jacob deGrom News