Rangers' Jacob deGrom denies rumored reason for leaving Mets

Ace Jacob deGrom insists he didn't leave the New York Mets to sign with the Texas Rangers in free agency last offseason because of an alleged desire to get away from the Big Apple and the country's largest sports market. 

"I don’t like it when people say that because that’s not true," deGrom told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "You know me pretty well — I like to pitch and that’s about it. I understand the other stuff that comes with it, but what I want to do is take the field, play and then get ready for the next time I play. I felt like I did that in New York." 

Reports linked deGrom with a return to the Mets in early December until it was learned that he signed a five-year deal reportedly worth $185M that carries a conditional sixth-year option to join the Rangers. SNY's Andy Martino reported on Dec. 2 that deGrom "never gave the Mets the chance to make a last, best offer" in negotiations, and the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner explained later that month that the Rangers made "me feel like they really wanted me here." 

Rumblings about deGrom possibly wanting out of New York spread among fans throughout the free-agency process. The 35-year-old said during spring training that "part" of him assumed he'd stay with the Mets beyond the 2022 season, but Sherman indicated deGrom has no second thoughts about his decision. 

"He concedes that the lifestyle and speed of life in Texas more fits his DNA," Sherman added about deGrom. "He and his wife had a third child in June. He says they always loved the name Nolan and they wondered if it would be weird considering the legacy of Nolan Ryan in these parts." 

While the Rangers are facing the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, deGrom is spending his fall recovering from Tommy John surgery he needed in June to repair a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. Sherman wrote that deGrom's target for a return "basically is next August."