If it’s up to Steve Cohen and his deep pockets, Jacob deGrom will remain in Queens.
The Mets’ owner seemed prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the ace right-hander a Met after he opts out of the final two years of his contract that would pay him an average of $31 million, as deGrom has said on multiple occasions he plans to do.
“Listen, he certainly has the right to do that. We love Jacob, and I think he’s the best pitcher in baseball,” Cohen told The Post on Saturday before the Mets hosted the Rockies at Citi Field. “We’ll do whatever we can to make sure he stays. But it’s his decision, not ours.”
After being shelved with a right shoulder injury for most of the season, the 34-year-old deGrom has pitched well while being handled cautiously, going 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 29 ¹/₃ innings. Cohen said the Mets haven’t talked about a new contract with the two-time Cy Young award winner now because it would be a distraction for both parties, but they have every intent to bring him back.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, all right,” Cohen said. “Right now we’re trying to win our division and we’re going to sit down with Jake and try to figure it out at the end of the season.”