NEW YORK (AP) - NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets have agreed to a $137.5 million, five-year contract, a deal that includes $52.5 million deferred into the 2030s.
New York and deGrom had agreed in January to a $17 million, one-year deal, and he was on track to be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season. The deal announced Monday guarantees an additional $120.5 million over four seasons and includes a team option for 2024 that if exercised would raise the total to $170 million over six years, including $67.5 million in deferred payments.
DeGrom’s new deal calls for a $10 million signing bonus, half due on Jan. 2 and the other half on Jan. 4, 2021. He gets a $7 million salary this season, $23 million in 2020, $33.5 million each in 2021 and 2022 and $30.5 million in 2023. The Mets have a $32.5 million option for 2024.
DeGrom’s contract provides for $12 million of his 2020 salary to be deferred, $13.5 million of 2021, $15 million of 2022, $12 million of 2023 and, if the option is exercised, $15 million of 2024. The deferred money is payable on July 1 in the 15th year after it was earned, making the first deferred payment due in 2035 and the option year money due in 2039.
DeGrom has the right to opt out of the deal after the 2022 season and become a free agent. He also gets the ability to block being traded, and he receives a hotel suite on road trips.
A right-hander who turns 31 in June, deGrom had a 1.70 ERA last year yet went 10-9 on a Mets team that finished 77-85. He allowed three runs or fewer in 29 consecutive starts to close the season, but the Mets were 11-18 in those games.
DeGrom is 55-41 with a 2.67 ERA in five big league seasons. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen represented the two-time All-Star as co-head of CAA Baseball before the team hired him last year.
“Jacob has proven that he is one of the best pitchers in baseball and we are excited that he is part of the short-term and long-term future of this organization,” Van Wagenen said in statement.
New York reached the deal with deGrom following an agreement between Chris Sale and Boston announced Saturday that adds $145 million from 2020-24 and raised the total for the left-hander to $160 million over six years. Sale, who turns 30 this weekend, has been an All-Star the past seven years and would have been eligible for free agency after this season.
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