The Mets had alternatives. Kind of.
They could have waited out Jacob deGrom, tried to sign him next offseason or the one after, when he would have been a free agent. There would have been a cost associated with that, however, in goodwill and perception and perhaps ultimately the financial bottom line. There would have been a cost for yet another new administration attempting the latest reset to prove it is not running the Same Old Mets.
Instead, the Mets took a risk that in total dollars is eerie, since the $137.5 million the Mets guaranteed Jacob deGrom is the same once bestowed Johan Santana.