The New York Mets and reigning Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom agreed to terms on a five-year, $137.5 million extension Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Mar 23, 2019; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) sits in the dugout prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
DeGrom, 30, had been under contract through next season and was scheduled to earn $17 million in 2019. The agreement comes just three days after the ace right-hander told reporters he wasn’t confident of a deal being struck before he takes the mound on Opening Day against the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
He will now earn $7 million in 2019 to go with a $10 million signing bonus, $23 million in 2020, $33.5 million in 2021-22 and $30.5 million in 2023 with a club option in 2024, according to reports. The deal includes an opt-out clause after the 2022 season as well as a full no-trade clause.
DeGrom is coming off a 2018 season in which he posted a 1.70 ERA with 269 strikeouts in 32 starts and won the Cy Young despite going just 10-9 for a Mets team that finished 77-85. It was the lowest win total ever for a Cy Young winner, breaking the previous record of 13 set by the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez in 2010.
—Fernando Tatis Jr., one of baseball’s top prospects, will open the 2019 season in the major leagues with the San Diego Padres, according to multiple reports.
Tatis, 20, is considered neck-and-neck with Toronto Blue Jays phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for top prospect in all of baseball. He will make his major league debut when he takes the field for the Padres, having peaked with Double-A San Antonio last season.
Tatis, a shortstop, hit .286 with 16 home runs, 43 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 88 games with San Antonio last season. He was shut down in July after needing left thumb surgery, returning to play 23 games in the Dominican Winter League during the offseason.
—Right-hander Kyle Hendricks agreed to a four-year contract through 2023, plus a team option for a fifth season, with the Chicago Cubs.
ESPN reported the deal, plus Hendricks’ existing salary of $7.045 million for 2019, has a total value of $63 million before the option year. The option includes a $1.5 million buyout and is worth $16 million. It will only vest if Hendricks finishes in the top three in National League Cy Young voting in 2020, per ESPN.
Hendricks was 14-11 last season with a 3.44 ERA in a career-high 199 innings and 33 starts.
—San Francisco Giants president and CEO Larry Baer was suspended without pay until July 2, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced.
Baer has been on leave since video of a public altercation with his wife surfaced. The footage captured by TMZ showed Baer aggressively pulling something from the hand of his wife, Pam, at a public park in San Francisco. Pam Baer was heard screaming before going to the ground.
Larry Baer was ordered to have “no involvement in the operations of the Giants” and is required to undergo an evaluation by an expert to determine “an appropriate treatment and counseling plan,” Manfred announced.
—Boston Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce, the reigning World Series MVP, will begin the season on the injured list.
He is suffering from a left calf injury and hasn’t played in spring training since March 17. Sam Travis will replace Pearce on the Opening Day roster.
Pearce batted .284 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs in 215 at-bats with the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays last season. The Red Sox acquired him in a trade on June 28, after which he hit .279 with seven home runs in 50 games.
—Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. will miss the 2019 season after tearing multiple ligaments in his left knee while stepping awkwardly on home plate Monday night.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo confirmed the extent of the injuries: torn ACL, torn LCL, a partially torn PCL and a posterior lateral capsule tear. He will require major surgery and rehabilitation.
Souza, who turns 30 next month, was injured in the fourth inning of Monday’s exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox at Chase Field in Phoenix. His foot appeared to slip on the plate on a non-contact play and he fell to the ground in pain, clutching his left knee. Souza played in 72 games in his first season with Arizona in 2018, missing much of the season due to pectoral strains.
—Cincinnati Reds prospect Nick Senzel is expected to be in a walking boot for up to two weeks because of a sprained ankle that he sustained during a spring training game, the team announced.
Senzel, 23, is considered by many talent evaluators to be the No. 1 prospect in the Reds’ farm system. He is expected to head to Triple-A Louisville once he recovers from the injury.
Cincinnati drafted Senzel with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft. The former Tennessee Volunteers standout has hit .314 with 27 home runs and 130 RBIs in 231 games in the minors.
—Former Colorado Rockies star Todd Helton has entered a residential treatment program after receiving a misdemeanor citation earlier this month on a charge of driving under the influence, his attorney says.
Helton’s car struck a telephone pole at around 6 p.m. on March 18, according to a Knox County (Tenn.) sheriff’s report obtained by the Denver Post.
According to police, Helton told the officers he had taken an Ambien earlier that afternoon. One officer spotted a cup inside the vehicle that “had the odor of an alcoholic beverage.” Helton, 45, required medical treatment and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
—Field Level Media