Mets analyst believes team should target Verlander over Rodon if deGrom bolts

The New York Mets find themselves at an interesting crossroads. They won over 100 games last season, but failed to clinch their division and ended up losing in the Wild Card round. Now, with several free agents on the market, they have to decide where to go.

One of the best and most important free agents on the market is their former ace Jacob deGrom. He opted out of his contract and became a free agent and will likely have many teams lining up for his services.

SNY's Danny Abriano is preparing for the worst in this scenario.

Abriano admitted that the team should absolutely go after deGrom, but knows he might not want to return:

"If given a choice between deGrom (entering his age-35 season), Verlander, and Rodon (entering his age-30 season), I'd choose deGrom easily. He is simply on another planet. And I'm willing to bet his injuries are mostly behind him."

Should that happen, he believes it should be Justin Verlander or bust:

"But if deGrom leaves, I'm of the opinion that [they] need another ace to replace him. And I think it would be an incredibly easy call to target Verlander over Rodon."

Carlos Rodon is good and significantly younger than Verlander, but Abriano believes the talent gap is too much to ignore.

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Is Jacob deGrom leaving the New York Mets?

DeGrom opting out certainly doesn't look great for New York, but players routinely opt out and re-sign with their original team. It's often a strategic business move.

Wild Card Series - San Diego Padres v New York Mets - Game Two

Does that mean deGrom is leaving New York? Not necessarily. Oddsmakers still believe he'll be a Met come next season.

According to Bookies.com, the Mets are slight favorites to re-sign deGrom.

• Home team +300
• Atlanta Braves +350
• Texas Ranger +400
• Los Angeles Dodgers +650
• San Francisco Giants +800
• San Diego Padres +1000
• New York Yankees +1000

Some teams may offer him a lot of money, but the Mets have the cash to match or exceed almost any reasonable offer. If they want him to remain in New York and he's fine continuing his career there, then there's no reason to think that won't happen.