Jacob deGrom Back On The Mound; Admits He "Thought He'd Be Back" With Mets

Jacob deGrom, after being held out of throwing from the beginning of camp due to tightness in his side, was back on the mound on Sunday. And was being watched ever-so-closely by Texas Rangers' staff. 

Apparently, all went exceedingly well, as the generational pitcher, who signed a 5-year, $185M contract with Texas this offseason, threw close to 30 pitches, and looked just like his future Hall of Fame self. He threw fastballs, a few sliders, and displayed his legendary control and consistency.

And afterwards, he took aim at the critics who said he couldn't wait to get out of New York this past winter. 

“It was never like, I’m outta here,” deGrom said. “You look at places you can see yourself playing. All I had known was New York, and part of me thought I’d be back,” he said. 

"I really enjoyed my time in New York. I have friends that will be lifelong friends in New York. We still keep in touch with a lot of people. That was all I knew for 13 years including eight seasons in the big leagues. The fans and everyone were always great to me. It was never like 100 percent I’m leaving here.”

But the Rangers offered greater than 50% more in their contract than the Mets’ last offer, which was around $100 million to $110 million according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

So now, hopefully recovered from his early camp setback, he'll start to ramp things up, to get ready for his first non-New York Mets season in his 10-year career.