Jacob deGrom’s representatives conferred with Mets officials at the winter meetings in the second week of December and left believing signing their client long term was a priority for the franchise.
Eight weeks later and without any substantive talks since has left the deGrom camp, at minimum, disappointed, especially because the public comments of Mets executives matched what the agents were told privately — that reaching an agreement to avoid deGrom becoming a free agent after the 2020 season was vital to the organization.
Thus, this becomes the next litmus test in the tenure of general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.