’GROM WITH THE WIND
News sources blow up Jake-Yank trade rumor: Mets would never do it
Even though it makes sense in a lot of ways, any notion of the Yankees and Mets coming to terms on a blockbuster trade for 29-year-old ace Jacob deGrom is never going to happen, according to multiple sources.
First off, dealing deGrom to the Yankees would be a public relations nightmare for the Mets — regardless of return — especially under the current circumstances in which the Bombers are one of the best teams in baseball and the Mets are trending in a downward spiral.
Imagine Jeff Wilpon’s horror at the sight of disgruntled Mets fans traveling over the RFK-Triborough Bridge to see their beloved righty pitch for the hated, yet offensively potent, Yankees for years to come.
Secondly, there is longstanding animosity between Jeff Wilpon and Yankees president Randy Levine, which goes back to disagreements over new stadium financing and the Mets blocking the Yankees from bringing their Triple-A team from Scranton, P.a. to Newark.
And finally, the two sides have rarely made any trades — let alone for superstar players that are in their prime. They couldn’t even come to terms on trades for complementary pieces Neil Walker, Lucas Duda or Jay Bruce last season, which reportedly resulted in a pissing match between Wilpon and Levine.
The Yankees and Mets have made 15 trades in their history — the most recent one a minor deal that sent Lee’s Mazzilli’s son, L.J., from Queens to the Bronx. The David Justice-for-Robin Ventura swap was probably the most notable, but that happened 17 years ago, and Justice and Ventura were both veterans at the time.
In any case, even for a pitcher of deGrom’s caliber, Hal Steinbrenner has loathed to give up any of the Yankees’ top prospects — especially including breakout contributors Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar or potential five-tool outfielder Estevan Florial, who is currently on the mend from injury. And two of those three would most certainly have to be included in a deal of this magnitude.
“I love the young guys, our fans love the young guys, and I think it’s obvious that they’ve made a heck of an impact,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday at MLB’s Park Avenue headquarters. “And to see Gleyber (Torres) and (Miguel) Andujar and others right off the heels of (Aaron) Judge and (Gary) Sanchez and (Luis) Severino, I mean it’s pretty amazing and our fans are really enjoying watching them play and so am I.”
It is more likely the Bombers will look to move lesser prospects like Clint Frazier or players like Brandon Drury and Tyler Austin for a second-tier starter such as J.A. Happ, Cole Hamels or Tyson Ross.
DeGrom has posted an 0.87 ERA in his last 10 starts, but the Mets are just 2-8 over that span. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season, which might be the Mets’ only incentive for moving him now rather than being faced with the prospect of having to pay him over $100 million when he’s over 30.
The Yankees have openly acknowledged their need for a starter given that Masahiro Tanaka is out with injuries to both hamstrings and Jordan Montgomery is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.
“I think there’s definitely a need, it’s definitely one of the areas we’re going to be looking at,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday. “We’ve got some flexibility payroll wise, as you know. The question is what’s going to be available and what are the asks.”
Ownership’s mandate to stay under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold isn’t changing, but Steinbrenner said that shouldn’t be a problem — even if they can acquire additional starting pitching.
“We purposely left a decent amount of money just for this,” Steinbrenner said.