The real issue with Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets is the same one the Mets so often face, the one they never seem to completely answer.
Are they willing to act like a big-market team?
A big-market team should be willing to sign a Cy Young-winning pitcher to a long-term contract. But a big-market team also shouldn't be afraid of any artificial deadlines along the way.
For all the talk of an Opening Day "deadline" in the deGrom negotiations, the only real deadline is the end of the 2020 season, when deGrom would be eligible to leave as a free agent.