3 Mets who won’t be back next season and where they’ll go

3 Mets not coming back next season: RHP Jacob deGrom

As tough a pill to swallow as this will be for Mets fans, Jacob deGrom‘s departure in free agency surely won’t be too much of a shock, as he has long been rumored to exercise his opt out in favor of a trip to free agency this offseason.

deGrom, 34, is one of the greatest pitchers not only in recent memory but perhaps all-time. While he likely won’t have a long enough career to earn GOAT status, he has been truly incredible on the mound when he’s healthy.

Unfortunately, that’s been just the problem for deGrom and the Mets over the past few seasons. In 2021, deGrom went 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA and 1.24 FIP but the sample size was just 15 starts and 92 innings. He missed the majority of the season with elbow inflammation that luckily did not come with any structural damage.

When 2022 rolled around, expectations were high for Mets fans who were understandably very excited to once again get a full season of deGrom’s starts, something they had not seen since 2019. Things did not go to plan, however, as deGrom suffered a stress reaction in his right scapula and missed most of spring training and didn’t make his first regular season start until August 2nd.

deGrom is under contract through 2023 (his contract has as 2024 player option) but he has the right to exercise an opt out clause this offseason and forego the remainder of his salary in favor of testing the free agent market, a move that is all the more likely now that the Mets suffered an early exit in the postseason.

Where deGrom lands: The Atlanta Braves are going to swoop in and steal deGrom out from under the division rival Mets.

If it means anything to Mets fans, there is a lot to be said about the organizational depth when the club can say they’re losing one of their aces, at least Max Scherzer remains.