New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom has only made 52 regular season starts in his career, but the right-hander, like many others, feel he's drastically outperformed his salary figures. That's why he turned down New York's offer for the 2016 season.
But don't worry Mets fans, he's still going to remain with the team. After rejecting the 2016 offer, the Mets renewed deGrom's contract since the pitcher has no other option because he's not eligible for arbitration yet. He'll make $607,000 next season, which is still an enormous underpay for what he's done in his first two MLB seasons, but that's just the way the system works.
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported the news earlier today and also spoke to deGrom's agent, Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA Baseball. He told Rubin that they "respect" the Mets' right to offer any salary they please to a pre-arbitration player, but deGrom's standing as one of the best pitchers in the MLB "cannot be properly valued by a formula." As a result, the 27-year-old "exercised his rights" under the collective bargaining agreement.
DeGrom made $556,875 in 2015, during which he went 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 205 strikeouts in 30 starts (191 innings), in addition to an impressive postseason (3-1, 2.88 ERA in four starts). The league minimum salary is $507,500. DeGrom said his decision to reject the offer does not affect his standing or relationship with the team.
But deGrom need not worry because, assuming all goes well in 2016 and he stays healthy, he'll qualify for arbitration next offseason as a Super Two player and will have four years of arbitration eligibility instead of the typical three.
MLB teams are not required to give big raises to pre-arbitration players, so the Mets are exercising their own right to save money before deGrom begins costing a lot more money starting next year. DeGrom's decision to protest the salary makes a statement in a sense, but nothing can actually be done because the Mets possess control over him until at least the 2020 season.
The former NL Rookie of the year expressed a willingness to engage in long-term contract talks with the Mets earlier this offseason, but nothing has been reported on that front since. It'd probably be smart for the Mets to strike a deal with the right-hander now rather than go through the arbitration salary process for the next four years, which can cause some tension as seen in the past.
At least deGrom's situation with the Mets wasn't as bad as Gerrit Cole's with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team threatened to pay Cole the league minimum if he didn't accept the team's offer of $541,000, even though the right-hander is among the best in the MLB.
It's safe to say these two are in line for big paydays in the coming seasons, so it won't be long before they're exercising their power over teams instead of vice versa.
