C-Mac: Mets absolutely should retire Jacob deGrom's number

As Jacob deGrom works his way back from another Tommy John surgery, he took a big step towards that return by throwing off a mound in Texas on Monday, as his former team was in town to take on his Rangers.

DeGrom mingled with former teammates in the outfield before the series opener, offering a reminder of his time with the Mets when he was the unquestioned best pitcher in baseball. The ending wasn’t a pretty one as deGrom signed with Texas after the 2022 season, but C-Mac says the two-time Cy Young winner should be remembered with nothing but fondness in Queens, and his number should one day hang atop Citi Field.

“I love Jacob deGrom. In my mind, I have never seen a pitcher better than Jacob deGrom,” C-Mac said. “As far as starting pitchers, his stuff and his dominance, when he was at his peak, I have never seen his equal.

“You came up through the organization, you went to a World Series with them, and while you were there, you were not only bar none, not only the best pitcher in baseball at the time, but arguably the peak of what the position has ever seen…it sounds like hyperbole, but I don’t know that it is. You couldn’t hit deGrom.”

As the Mets under Steve Cohen soften on retiring numbers, honoring Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden this year, C-Mac says that should pave the way for deGrom to be honored in the future, to acknowledge the dominant force that he was in his peak.

“I think that’s enough to warrant retiring his number,” C-Mac said. “I think there should be a Jacob deGrom Day.”