Cubs Trade Rumors: deGrom’s Agent Urges Mets to ‘Seriously Consider Trade Opportunities Now’ if No Extension
In what could be perceived as an ultimatum, Jacob deGrom’s agent told the Mets they might want to trade his client if they’re not willing to work out a long-term extension. CAA’s Brodie Van Wagenen shared his thoughts on the matter with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who tweeted the quotes out Monday afternoon.
“We have discussed Jacob’s future with the Mets at length,” Van Wagenen said. “Jacob has expressed interest in exploring a long-term partnership that would keep him in a Mets uniform for years to come.
“If the Mets don’t share same interest, we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now. The inertia of [the] current situation could complicate Jacob’s relationship with the club and creates an atmosphere of indecision.”
CAA’s Brodie van Wagenen, agent for Jacob deGrom: “We have discussed Jacob’s future with the Mets at length. Jacob has expressed interest in exploring a long-term partnership that would keep him in a Mets uniform for years to come.” 1/2
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 16, 2018
More from Van Wagenen: “If the Mets don’t share same interest, we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now.
The inertia of current situation could complicate Jacob’s relationship with the club and creates an atmosphere of indecision.”— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 16, 2018
Van Wagenen clarified that this is not a threat and certainly not a trade demand, rather that he is actually working to keep his client with the Mets. If, however, the Mets aren’t willing to talk turkey, it’d be in deGrom’s best interest for his team to strike while the iron is hot.
“It is not a demand for a trade,” Van Wagenen told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “It is simply expressing Jacob’s interest to stay with the club long term and if he is not part of the future, he understands that the club is better positioned to trade him.”
Both deGrom and Van Wagenen have said that extension talks have taken place but that no numbers have been exchanged as of yet. Not that the Mets are really in any rush since they’ve still got two years of contractual control left. But that control wanes just a little bit each day, which means their return in a trade drops as well. They also get that much less value from an extension since deGrom’s salary is sure to jump in a big way through arbitration over the next two winters.
deGrom has been the subject of rumors involving the Cubs and other teams, and the media frenzy surrounding the All-Star Game provides both a platform and a microphone for agents. So maybe this is simply posturing to force the Mets’ hand a little. Given all the factors involved, a trade seems unlikely at this point and deGrom has maintained that he’d like to stay in New York (which is a common refrain, to be sure). After the season, though, a trade could be a real possibility.
If deGrom is indeed made available in the coming days, however, you can be sure the Cubs would be involved in conversations and that some of their big names would be in play. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score specifically mentioned Addison Russell and Ian Happ, though that was from more of a hypothetical standpoint. It’s hard to see the Cubs moving both in a deal, even for a pitcher of deGrom’s elite status.
And after the way they ended the first half with a roster that’s finally rounding into form and getting back to full health, the Cubs might not want to mess with anything in a big way. This deGrom stuff could well end up being nothing, but it could also be something. At the very least, it’s a situation to monitor.
