With the Mets in Arlington to start a three-game series with the Texas Rangers, local reporters were able to catch up with an old friend in Jacob deGrom.
The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time Cy Young winner in New York, deGrom is undoubtedly one of the greatest pitchers to ever don the Mets uniform, pitching to a 2.52 in his 209 career starts. But over the course of his final three seasons, deGrom made just 38 starts, as injuries plagued his time with the team.
He then stunned many around the game when he signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers in December 2022, and even though he chose to go a different way, deGrom says he’ll always be appreciative of the team that first gave him a chance.
“I’m forever thankful for the Mets organization. I’ve said that before,” deGrom said. “They drafted me and I spent nine years of my career there. I definitely enjoyed my time there, and when I was a Met my goal was to put the team in a position to win and leave it all out on the field, and that’s what I tried to do every fifth day. So, I’m thankful for the opportunity that the organization gave me."
Coming off of June Tommy John surgery, the second time he’s had the procedure, deGrom said he doesn’t have a timeline for when he’ll get back to game action, but he did take a big step on Monday by throwing 15 pitches, all fastballs, off the slope of the mound.
“I’m not sure of the timeline, but I’m feeling really good. I touched the mound for the first time today, so that went really well,” he said. "One day at a time, I’ve got two more times this week, and then just need to keep moving forward from there.”
DeGrom had already been shut down for the season when the Rangers came to Citi Field in late August last season, so he missed his chance to take the mound he used to call home.
And while he’s obviously not playing in this series, the Rangers will play at Citi Field at some point in 2025. DeGrom said he hasn’t put much thought into what that day will be like, but he did give Mets fans a shoutout for the way they treated him when he wore the Orange and Blue.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it,” deGrom said. “I thought I was going to get to play there last year, and unfortunately ended up having to get surgery. That will be interesting. The fans were always great to me there. Like I said, my goal is to always leave it out on the field for the team and for the fans. Now the goal is to get back healthy and do that here.”