LOS ANGELES — The cost of locking up the Mets’ young pitchers will be substantial, a fact that was reinforced Monday when Stephen Strasburg received a seven-year extension from the Nationals worth $175 million.
Though Strasburg could have become a free agent after this season, placing him in a different category than Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the deal serves as a barometer for the Mets if they try to lock up members of the group.
“Off the bat, it doesn’t surprise me,” assistant general manager John Ricco said before the Mets faced the Dodgers.