Jacob deGrom

The New York Yankees "recently requested medical information" on free-agent pitcher Jacob deGrom, according to Andy Martino of SNY.

While that doesn't guarantee a Yankees' pursuit of deGrom in free agency, Martino added that they were just one of five teams to request his medical information thus far.

The 34-year-old deGrom, who spent the first nine seasons of his MLB career with the New York Mets and won two Cy Young awards along the way, will be one of the top players in free agency and arguably the top pitcher, with Justin Verlander also making a strong case.

He isn't without his concerns. Injuries limited him to just 26 total starts over the past two seasons, making his medical information all the more important for prospective suitors.

But when he's been healthy, he's been productive. He finished the 2022 campaign 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 62.1 innings, and was on pace for a legendary season in 2021 (7-2, 1.08 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 146 strikeouts in 92 innings) before inflammation and a stress reaction in his shoulder cut it short.

His age and injury history may limit his market somewhat, but players with his capacity to completely dominate don't hit free agency often. He'll have a vibrant market.

As for the Yankees, Martino noted that re-signing defending American League MVP Aaron Judge will be the priority, with the team also focused on improving the pitching staff.

Former Yankees pitchers like Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Jameson Taillon, among others, are free agents this winter, creating the potential for a lot of turnover in New York's pitching staff this offseason.

Certainly, adding an ace like deGrom would alleviate the potential pain of losing those arms.

If Jacob deGrom doesn't return to the New York Mets next season, don't expect him to join the team's National League East rival in Atlanta.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, it is "highly unlikely" the Braves will sign the right-hander or add a shortstop other than potentially re-signing their own Dansby Swanson.

"The Braves are reluctant to enter into a deal with any player who takes up too high a percentage of their payroll, knowing in future seasons the salaries of their young players will rise," Rosenthal wrote.

Atlanta has a solid rotation with Max Fried, Kyle Wright and Spencer Strider leading the way, but deGrom would be quite the addition.

When healthy, it is hard to find a better pitcher in the league than the nine-year veteran. His resume includes a National League Rookie of the Year, two NL Cy Young awards, an ERA title and four All-Star selections.

Yet there is an element of risk that comes with signing him, especially since he will surely command a major salary as one of the top prizes on the free agency market.

After all, deGrom is 34 years old and coming off two injury-marred campaigns. DeGrom started just 11 games in 2022 and 15 in 2021, which is a far cry from the durability he showed earlier in his career.

Not counting the shortened 2020 season, deGrom started at least 22 games every year of his career since he entered the league in 2014. That included a stretch of four seasons with 30 or more starts, including when he posted a league-best 1.70 ERA in 2018.

There was also something of a dropoff, even in a limited sample size in 2022, as he posted a 3.08 ERA compared to the 1.08 mark he had the prior season.

From the Braves' perspective, it seems they are focused on keeping their young core together after winning the 2021 World Series and reaching the playoffs for the fifth straight time this past year.

Giving deGrom a significant deal could limit some of the financial flexibility to keep that core in place, so Atlanta fans may need to look elsewhere if they are looking for an offseason addition.

Coming off their sixth straight season with a losing record, the Texas Rangers are aiming high in free agency as they look to upgrade their pitching staff.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Rangers have contacted the agents for Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón and Japanese star Koudai Senga.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported deGrom has told the Rangers he's interested in them but that Rodón "may be a better fit for Texas ultimately."

The Rangers have also been linked to Clayton Kershaw, who they tried to sign last offseason before he returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They are also trying to re-sign Martín Pérez, though Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today noted Pérez will likely receive a qualifying offer after the sides reached an impasse in contract talks.

DeGrom has the highest risk-reward potential of any starter on the market. He had a 3.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts last season for the New York Mets but only made 11 starts as he recovered from a shoulder injury.

Over the past two seasons combined, deGrom has only thrown 156.1 innings in 26 starts thanks to injuries.

Rodón is coming off the best two-year run of his MLB career. The left-hander has a 2.67 ERA. 1.00 WHIP and 422 strikeouts in 310.2 innings over 55 starts since 2021. He spent last season with the San Francisco Giants after playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2021.

Senga is little known to baseball fans in the United States, but the 29-year-old right-hander is ranked as the 18th-best free agent by The Athletic's Keith Law.

"He throws 100 mph with a plus splitter, while opinions on his slider vary from below-average to just slightly above," Law wrote about Senga's arsenal. "He does have a true curveball that looks like it would be at least an average pitch as well."

Playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball last season, Senga posted a 1.94 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 144 innings.

After the Rangers fired Jon Daniels as president of baseball operations in August, they seemingly handed over control of their front office to general manager Chris Young.

The Daniels-Young front office spent big last winter to bring in Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million), Marcus Semien (seven years, $175 million) and Jon Gray (four years, $56 million).

Those moves didn't produce the results Texas hoped for. The team finished fourth in the AL West with a 68-94 record. One of the biggest reasons the Rangers struggled is that the starting rotation was the fifth-worst in Major League Baseball by FanGraphs' wins above replacement (5.8).

MLB teams that hope to trade for a top-tier starting pitcher like the Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber or Milwaukee Brewers' Corbin Burnes reportedly face "astronomical" asking prices.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Thursday neither the Guardians nor Brewers are showing an "intent to deal," which could restrict those pushing to land an ace to a free-agent class led by Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón and Justin Verlander.

Bieber and Burnes are on the same contract track. They each have two years of arbitration remaining and can't become free agents until after the 2024 season. That puts little time pressure on their teams' front offices, so the lack of trade intent isn't a surprise.

Here's a look at how the standout right-handers performed in 2022:

• Bieber: 2.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 198 K in 200 IP
• Burnes: 2.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 243 K in 202 IP

Given those numbers, the contractual control and the fact that both Cleveland and Milwaukee are playoff contenders heading toward 2023, the chances of a blockbuster trade are remote.

In turn, the competition for the top starters on the free-agent market figures to become intense as World Series hopefuls attempt to bolster their rotations.

The good news for those clubs is plenty of talent is available in free agency, led by the trio of deGrom, Rodón and Verlander.

• DeGrom: 3.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 102 K in 64.1 IP (New York Mets)
• Rodón: 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 237 K in 178 IP (San Francisco Giants)
  
• Verlander: 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 185 K in 175 IP (Houston Astros)

Passan listed deGrom (34 years old) and Rodón (29) among the free agents expected to receive contracts with a total value over $100 million.

Verlander, 39, is a different case because of his age, but he could attract a lucrative one-year contract from a team on the cusp of World Series contention, or from the Astros as they attempt to defend their championship next season.

While it's never cheap to add an ace, that's particularly true this offseason because the demand for elite starters far outweighs the supply on both the trade and free-agent markets.

The dominoes will begin to fall when free agency opens at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Record-breaking New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge reportedly headlines a group of nine MLB players expected to receive contracts of at least $100 million this offseason.

One player, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz, already joined the nine-figure club by signing a $102 million extension. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported other members of the group expected to join Diaz and Judge via free agency, which opens Thursday at 5 p.m. ET:

• SS Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• SS Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins)
• SS Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox)
• SS Dansby Swanson (Atlanta Braves)
• OF Brandon Nimmo (New York Mets)
• SP Carlos Rodón (San Francisco Giants)
• SP Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)

Nimmo is the only name on the list that may catch some people by surprise given his modest counting stats across seven seasons with the Mets. He's recorded just 63 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 608 career appearances.

That said, the 29-year-old center fielder gets on base at a high rate (.385 career on-base percentage) and plays solid defense (six outs above average in 2022, per FanGraphs).

Agent Scott Boras said Wednesday a "majority" of teams have already called him about Nimmo.

"You are looking at a guy that there are no center fielders in our game that are available," Boras told reporters. "And then you add leadoff to that and then you add ... on-base percentage to that, and he's an excellent defender and then also he can play in New York. When you have those elements that are there, he becomes a very integral part of what we found for a team to win 100 games. He's a very proven commodity and there are very few that can replace him."

Otherwise, two intriguing storylines early in free agency will be whether the Yankees can keep pace in the Judge sweepstakes and which star shortstop signs first to set the market at the position.

New York can't afford to lose Judge and expect to remain a top-tier contender in the American League. He carried the club's offense for extended stretches in 2022 en route to setting the new AL home run record with 62.

As Boras alluded, there aren't many great options available in center field, and even the dropoff from Judge to Nimmo is rather significant. So the ability to re-sign the 6'7'' slugger is a make-or-break situation for the Yanks.

Meanwhile, all four of the top-tier shortstops available should surpass the $100 million mark if they're willing to sign long-term deals.

Swanson, who's often ranked fourth on the list and could sign first to help set the baseline for the others, finds himself in a similar situation to Freddie Freeman last offseason. He's spent his entire career with the Braves but hits the market without a new deal.

"Business is business, man. It's not always the fun part about the game," Swanson said last week on 92.9 The Game. "I wish it was just one plus one, but it never seems to be that way."

Freeman left to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Swanson may follow him out the Truist Park door, leaving Atlanta with a void at shortstop.

All told, a lot of money is going to get spent over the next few months and, given the high-end talent available, the clubs willing to open their checkbooks could put themselves at the forefront of the 2023 championship chase.

The New York Mets are reportedly "most worried" about the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers as they attempt to re-sign starting pitcher Jacob deGrom, who opted out of his contract to become a free agent.

SNY's Andy Martino reported Tuesday the Mets are expected to make a "strong" offer to bring back deGrom early in free agency but aren't planning to stay in a long-term bidding war with the Braves, Rangers and other interested clubs if that's how the situation plays out.

Martino also noted the two sides have had "preliminary contact":

The top of New York's pitching staff is the main point of concern as free agency gets prepared to open Thursday, especially after the team was able to re-sign closer Edwin Diaz to solidify the back end of the bullpen.

There are a lot of question marks behind Max Scherzer, which means multiple additions could be necessary if Carlos Carrasco and Chris Bassitt also depart.

DeGrom coming back would provide a major boost, but it doesn't sound like the Mets' front office is willing to meet or exceed any offer to keep him.

The club is willing to pay fair market value or "perhaps go a bit higher" but will otherwise attempt to fill the void in another way, per Martino.

Watching the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who's pitched his entire nine-year career with the Mets, land with the NL East rival Braves would be a tough pill to swallow, though.

Atlanta already features one of MLB's best rotations with Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton, and picking up a starter with a 2.52 ERA across 209 career starts would give the Braves the best starting group in baseball.

Meanwhile, deGrom represents a bigger need for the Rangers, who have more talent on their roster than their 68-94 record in 2022 would indicate. One of the missing pieces is a true ace.

In October, Texas general manager Chris Young didn't hide his intention to enter free agency with an eye toward improving the rotation.

"We will be active on the free-agent market with the intention of signing multiple starting pitchers," Young told reporters.

Landing deGrom would be a massive step in the right direction toward rebuilding that area of the roster.

All told, it's hard to imagine the Mets won't do everything in their power to keep their longtime ace, but all signs point toward ample competition on the market.