MLB analyst disputes $215,000,000 star's NL MVP win, argues Jacob deGrom had a stronger case

Playing for the Mets, Jacob deGrom won the NL Cy Young Award in 2018, missing a unanimous victory just by one. However, in the NL MVP voting, deGrom fell short to fifth place behind Christian Yelich, Javier Baez, Nolan Arenado, and Freddie Freeman.

Former Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, currently working as an analyst, recently claimed Jacob deGrom deserved to win the MVP award over Christian Yelich, who went on to sign a 9-year, $215,000,000 contract with the Brewers in 2020.

On Monday's episode of the Talkin Baseball podcast with sportscaster Chris Rose, Plouffe delved into the topic of deGrom, who only made three starts in the last season due to injuries.

As they analyzed the prospects of the 2x Cy Young Award winner in 2025, the Twins third baseman quickly reminded Rose and listeners about voters getting it wrong in 2018 MVP voting.

"Now, I love my guy Yelli [Christian Yellich]..But you're telling me that Javi Baez and his .881 OPS, Nolan Arenado, Freddie Freeman with just you know decent years, WARs in the six or the five was better than a guy that had a 9.9 WAR."

"Go look at his season 1.7 ERA, and we're freaking that's insane to me. The voters, you messed that up. You, you f*cking messed that up," Plouffe said [33:06].

When Rose enquired whether Plouffe would've voted deGrom second, the former Twins slugger replied:

"I would have voted him first. That year, he was absolutely filthy. I love you Yelli. I'm sorry, I'm happy you won it. You got a massive deal because of it," said Plouffe [33:40].

Trevor Plouffe highlighted Jacob deGrom's incredible pitching season, stating that he started 32 games, pitched 217 innings, and recorded a 1.7 ERA. Plouffe noted that deGrom had a 218 ERA+, a 1.98 FIP, and a 0.4 HR/9.

DeGrom currently plays for the Texas Rangers, having opted out of his contract with the Mets before the 2023 season.

Trevor Plouffe on whether Jacob deGrom will be 2025's Chris Sale

After the Boston Red Sox traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves, the veteran ace signed a two-year, $38,000,000 extension. Sale had a resurgent season in 2024, winning the NL Cy Young, Triple Crown, and the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

On Monday's episode of Talkin Baseball, sportscaster Chris Rose asked Trevor Plouffe whether Jacob deGrom would have a resurgent season in 2025, like Chris Sale in 2024, to which Plouffe replied:

"It's very, very high, if he's healthy. I mean, that’s just it. I know it’s an if, but if he is healthy, this is his second Tommy John [surgery]. I think it was great that he came back last year, got a little bit of rust off, had a normal offseason."

"I know that’s the caveat to this question is 'if he’s healthy, 'but right now, I kind of always bank on guys being healthy. So, I think there’s a very, very good chance that he returns to form," Plouffe said [30:12].

However, the former third baseman didn't have the confidence to predict Jacob deGrom would win Cy Young. Nonetheless, he was confident the Texas Rangers ace would be elite.