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Major League Baseball's New York teams live by their stars.
Perhaps the best evidence of this is the fact that the Yankees were considering selling at the trade deadline when Aaron Judge came close to missing the end of the season.
A catcher hitting 60 home runs is an amazing narrative. But here's another:
In July, it looked like Aaron Judge might need surgery. The Yankees were preparing to sell off players in a worst case scenario, according to @martinonyc. Bellinger, Grisham, Williams all could've been..
– Bryan Hoch
(@BryanHoch) September 28, 2025
Both New York teams have the means to achieve their ambitions, and this makes it difficult to think that a player is really out of reach for Hal Steinbrenner's or Steve Cohen's wallet.
And it was with this in mind that I developed my daring prediction (which I half-believe) of the day: Jacob deGrom will pitch his next game for the New York Mets.
The trigger, in my mind, was a sentence from Chris Young, the boss of the Texas Rangers, in connection with the announcement of the departure of Bruce Bochy, who had been the manager in town for three years.
He said that the club wasn't going to rebuild, but that the Rangers were going to be younger in 2026 and faced some financial uncertainty.
Media had a Zoom call with Chris Young, who said that the #Rangers will not be rebuilding next season, but they will be younger and there is financial uncertainty. After explaining that to Bochy and not being able to give a clear picture of 2026, they decided to part ways. 1/2
– Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) September 30, 2025
So I figure if the Mets, who have shown they desperately need a top-notch starting pitcher, called to get deGrom out of Texas, the Rangers would listen.
And surely deGrom wouldn't mind the project.
Steve Cohen is probably the only owner crazy enough to take on his $74 million contract guaranteed for the next two seasons. Remember that deGoat will be 38 next season and his injury history is intense.
But he dominated in 2025 and it's a pitcher like him that the Mets, who have been victimized by David Stearns' ugly work in the rotation, could have used. And since the Mets have stars who could leave, it's going to take some big players in town.
Do Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz have a future on the Mets?
After failing to make the MLB postseason despite a huge $340 million payroll, the Mets have multiple stars that could dictate an important offseason.
– Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 30, 2025
deGrom was beloved in the city during his many seasons with the Mets and seeing what's going on in Texas, I wouldn't be surprised if he agreed to a return to New York, where management, the guys in the locker room and the fans would no doubt welcome him with open arms.
Fans would forget the past pretty quickly.
More and more, some teams like to go after former stars because they know what these players can bring to the locker room. The Astros' example with Carlos Correa is blatantly obvious. #EmotiveDecision
If Steve Cohen agreed to take a good portion of the pitcher's contract, the Mets would have almost nothing to give in return in terms of prospects. After all, the Rangers need the financial muscle.
Remember that the two organizations already negotiated a similar deal (a quality veteran pitcher with a big contract) when Max Scherzer left New York to play in Texas – with deGrom, of all places.
I see a path to such a treaty, even if it's relatively unlikely.
This content was created with the help of AI.
