Ricco: Jake, Mets in tune

WASHINGTON — It was here at Nationals Park, just a couple of weeks ago, that Jacob deGrom rattled the Mets’ cage, issuing his desire from the All-Star Game to either sign an extension with the team that drafted and developed him or get traded.

And it was here, home of the Mets’ struggling-in-their-own right rivals, where the non-waivers trade deadline passed with deGrom settling for nothing, so far.

The Mets didn’t trade deGrom, nor did they sign him to an extension. The only certainty about his future remains what he already knew before his public proclamation: He is under the Mets’ control through the 2020 season, after which point he can become a free agent.

“We’ve had several discussions with Jake and Brodie [van Wagenen, deGrom’s agent],” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said Tuesday in a conference call. “I think we’re on the same page there. We’ll get together internally and decide on a path moving forward. Obviously Jake is one of the best pitchers in the game. He’s had an unbelievable year for us. We’re going to treat him with all the respect he deserves.”

Ricco, who is working alongside Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi to run the Mets’ baseball operations in the wake of Sandy Alderson’s medical leave, added, “We totally respect Jacob’s point of view. Our obligation is to do what’s best for the Mets, for the short term and the long term, and that’s what we’re committed to doing.”