Dodgers: Pros and Cons to Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander
Two of the biggest pitchers on the free-agent market are Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who has spent his entire career with the Mets, and Justin Verlander, who has won three Cy Young Awards with the Tigers and Astros. The Dodgers are in the market for a starting pitcher or two and have a lot of money, so naturally they’ve been linked to both stars.
There’s a case to be made for and against each of these two superstars, which we’ll cover shortly. But first, we put it to a vote among Dodger fans, and the results have been overwhelming thus far. Nearly three-quarters of you would rather have L.A. sign deGrom than Verlander.
Who would you rather the Dodgers sign? #DNpolls
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) November 28, 2022
Like I said, there are pros and cons to both. Let’s look at them:
Jacob deGrom
Pro: When he’s healthy, he’s the best pitcher in baseball. He has a 2.05 ERA over the last five seasons.
Con: He hasn’t been very healthy the last two years, making just 26 starts over 2021-22 combined.
Con: He rejected the Mets’ qualifying offer, meaning the Dodgers would lose their second and fifth picks in next year’s draft (which would be their second-round pick and the compensation pick they received because Tyler Anderson signed with the Angels) and they’d lose $1 million from their international bonus pool.
Pro: If someone offered to trade you Jacob deGrom in exchange for Tyler Anderson, your second-round pick, and $1 million in international bonus money, you’d probably jump at that deal.
Con: He’s going to demand a lot of money per year.
Pro: It likely won’t be for too many years, considering his age and injury history.
Justin Verlander
Pro: When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. He posted a 1.75 ERA in 2022 to win his third Cy Young Award.
Con: He missed basically all of 2020 and 2021 with Tommy John surgery, which can make a team nervous.
Con: Oh yeah, and he turns 40 in February.
Con: Did we mention that he played for the 2017 Astros who cheated to steal a World Series title from the Dodgers?
Pro: He’s a pitcher, and it was the hitters who cheated, and they were well into the cheating scheme long before he was acquired in August of that year.
Con: He’s also going to demand a lot of money per year.
Pro: His deal might be even shorter than deGrom’s, considering that he’s starting to get unsolicited AARP catalogs in his mailbox.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both pitchers. But it appears the fans have spoken, and they want deGrom.
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Two senior citizen starters, one of these guys and Kershaw WILL strain the rest of available pitching resources. Not offering a 3 year deal at 40 mill to TA was a big mistake, his chances of 3 solid years is much better than either of these two and less than half the price.
DeGrom is better and he would be a better pick and a good starting picture
Leave them be. Trade for Burnes and Adames and extend Burnes. Then go get a bad ass closer. Done.
Get both if there is a chance maybe.
I am not entirely optimistic about LA’s minor league pitcher prospects. There is some quality there, but not that elite. Thus, for LA to be successful in the long term, they should sign someone younger with a lot of upside–via trade.
Rodon is more likely to pitch full seasons with good quality (not as good as deGrom, if deGrom pitches). It is not smart to pay 20%+ of your payroll to a pitcher. Losing Tyler Anderson makes no sense.The current rotation is 1.Urias 2. Kershaw 3 Gonsolin 4. Dustin May 5. open 6. Pepiot 7. Grove 8. Andre Jackson 9. Bobby Miller 10. Gavin Stone 11. Emett Sheehan. Need that 5th starter.