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The Atlanta Braves made a great run in the second half of the season to overtake Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets and gain first place in the National League East.
However, it was not an easy accomplishment as the Mets had control of the division for the majority of the season. If the Braves want to command the division in 2023, they would be wise to make a strong run at deGrom and steal the pitcher away from the Mets. It might take a 3-year deal valued at more than $130 million, but it would be worth it.
Here's a look at the primary reasons this would help the Braves.
3. deGrom would strengthen the Braves pitching staff
It's the most obvious reason and it will pay the biggest dividend. If he is healthy — and that's a very big if — deGrom is arguably the best regular-season pitcher in the sport.
When he's on his game, deGrom has a rocket for a fastball that he can command with ease and he has a brilliant put-away pitch in his slider as well as a change up.
After he returned from an injury to his right scapula, deGrom made 11 regular-season starts in 2022. He went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 0.750 WHIP. Amazingly, deGrom had 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.
deGrom won the Cy Young Award in 2019 and is a four-time All-Star. In his Cy Young season, deGrom made 32 starts and registered 255 strikeouts in 204.0 innings with a 2.43 ERA and a 0.971 WHIP.
2. Build confidence among the Atlanta starting staff
There's an old saying in baseball that no team can ever have enough starting pitching. The Braves have proved that axiom in the past, and signing deGrom would help them prove it again.
In the franchise's great run during the 1990s, the Braves added Greg Maddux to a starting rotation that included John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery. Many thought they had enough starting pitching before Maddux was added. However, once the Braves brought in the right hander, they had the best starting staff in the National League by wide miles.
The Braves currently have Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson. That five-man unit was excellent in 2022, but Morton is 38 and he may not be a solution for much longer. Even if he can still pitch well in 2023, adding deGrom would be similar to when the 1993 Braves added Maddux, perhaps the best pitching free-agent signee in MLB history.
1. Deflating the Mets
The Mets know their ace is a free agent, and they know he has battled injuries. Management understands he is a brilliant performer when healthy. While nobody can provide assurances that deGrom can avoid injuries, how would the Mets feel if their ace was wearing a different uniform?
That idea would be brutal. It would be even worse if the fireballer was wearing the uniform of the Atlanta Braves, their chief rivals in the National League East — with apologies to the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Imagine the pall in spring training where every player in a Mets uniform would know their team is significantly weaker while the Brave would be significantly stronger. Those same Mets players would try to put a good face on the loss of Jacob deGrom, but they would not believe their own words — and neither would anyone else.
