Throughout the offseason, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we did a Thanksgiving theme. This week we're going to examine a top free agent pitcher.
Where will Jacob deGrom sign and for how much?
R.J. Anderson: I think you have to continue to consider the Mets to be the favorites until there's a reason to pivot. In terms of the contract itself, I assume it'll be something like two or three years and $80 to $120 million -- or, similarish to the deal Max Scherzer signed last winter. deGrom is, of course, a few years younger than Scherzer was then, but his recent injury history leads me to think teams won't rush to sign him for five-plus years.
Dayn Perry: The sources I do not have have not been telling me he's going to the Angels for $130 million over four years, so I'll say he goes to the Angels for four years and $130 million. Yes, the Mets are the real favorites to sign him, but I'm not here to provide you with good-faith estimations on anything. He's going to the Angels. Book it. (Note: Do not book it.)
Matt Snyder: DeGrom was severely underpaid through 2019 (yes, he absolutely was and if you disagree you are wrong) and he seems pretty well intent on cashing in with the highest bidder at this point in his career to make up for lost time, so to speak. It won't be the least bit surprising if that is the Mets, but I feel like the Rangers are due for a huge pay on the pitching side like they did with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien on the position-playing side last year. Sure, there's a new general manager in town, but former MLB pitcher Chris Young was promoted from within and they won't be shy about spending to cover deficiencies. I'm picking the Rangers at four years and $180 million.
Mike Axisa: I think the Mets are the most likely team to sign deGrom but I don't think it's a slam dunk, and I would bet on the field at this point. I'll go outside the box and say deGrom heads to the pitching needy Twins after they fail to re-sign Carlos Correa and throw their money at deGrom instead. As for the contract, I'll say four years at $43.5M a pop ... with an opt out after each year.
