deGrom, Mets to put off extension talks until after '22

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- If the Mets decide to negotiate a new contract with Jacob deGrom, it isn’t likely to happen until after this season.

Team owner Steve Cohen said Sunday that he won’t try to ink deGrom to a new deal until “the appropriate time,” which he indicated is not right now. deGrom can opt out of his current five-year, $137.5 million contract in November.

“We’re going to play the season and then we’ll figure that out, and Jake will do what he does,” Cohen said. “We love Jake, and we’ll figure it out at some point.”

Heading into last year, it seemed inevitable that deGrom would opt out of the contract, given his three consecutive elite seasons, highlighted by a pair of National League Cy Young Awards. It appeared equally likely that the Mets would try to preempt that move by signing deGrom to an extension. But an injury-plagued 2021 changed the equation. For the Mets, extending deGrom now would mean taking on the burden of his health risk in future seasons without seeing how he responds to an offseason of rest.

To that end, deGrom showed up to Mets camp on Saturday and played a brief game of catch with bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello. According to manager Buck Showalter, deGrom -- like most pitchers -- began throwing off a mound before arriving in Port St. Lucie. General manager Billy Eppler added that he has “no reason to be” concerned about deGrom’s health entering Spring Training.

“I haven’t had the debrief with any of the trainers on him so, yeah, as far as I know, it’s just kind of normal,” Eppler said. “He just goes out and operates as normal. I haven’t been told anything otherwise.”

That lines deGrom up to resume what has been, outside of his injury issues, a historic run on the mound. Over the past four seasons, deGrom has produced a 1.94 ERA with 774 strikeouts in 581 innings. Various physical issues began popping up in 2020 and intensified the following summer, when deGrom missed the final two and a half months of the campaign due to right elbow inflammation.

Had the Mets been in contention, deGrom said at the time, he would have been healthy enough to pitch down the stretch. As it was, he hasn’t appeared in a game since July 7.

deGrom’s ability to do so in 2022 will have significant financial implications. If he does not opt out of his current deal, the Mets will owe him $68 million over the next two seasons, with a $32.5 million team option for ‘24. If deGrom does opt out, the sides will need to negotiate a new deal for him to fulfill his stated goal of being a Met for life. Doing so would hardly be unprecedented; the Dodgers extended Clayton Kershaw amid similar circumstances following the ‘18 season, and the Nationals re-signed Stephen Strasburg after his opt-out in ’19.

Addressing the room

Once Mets manager Buck Showalter was allowed to contact his players following the MLB lockout, one of his first calls was to Robinson Canó. The second baseman has not played since receiving a suspension in November 2020 for a second violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Canó told Showalter that he would like to address his teammates early in Spring Training, and the manager granted that request.

“You can tell how comfortable he is in the locker room and how happy he is to be back,” Showalter said. “We’re excited about having him back on the club.”

The 39-year-old Canó is expected to split time at second base and designated hitter.

Helping hands

Among those scheduled to report to camp on Monday is Keith Hernandez, but not in his usual broadcasting role quite yet. Instead, Hernandez will serve as a guest instructor for the day -- something he has done in the past as a way to help individual players, but not typically in an official team capacity.

The appointment is part of a larger push from Mets officials to have ex-players help those currently on the roster. Other former Mets scheduled to serve as instructors this spring include David Wright, Mike Piazza, Mookie Wilson and Al Leiter.