It sucks that deGrom left and his justifications don't track of course, but I think it's worth acknowledging the somewhat impossible situation he was in in terms of what he was going to say.

We can all agree he didn't want to be here and felt he would be much happier in TX. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just how he feels and there could be a million reasons he feels that way that would not necessarily reflect poorly on New York. Different strokes for different folks. It's part of being human. But imagine he said that. "I like Texas better than NY. And, as great as the fans and ownership were, and despite how competitive the Mets are going to be, I knew I would just never feel as happy and comfortable in the city as I would in TX. And, to be honest, NY was not going to give me the numbers and years TX was."

Sure, some people would applaud him for his honesty... but admitting he didn't really like NY or wasn't ever fully comfortable here would have gotten him lambasted by many more than applauded him. And it would also cast a retroactive aspersion on all his time and achievements with the Mets. "You mean you never really loved us, Jake?"

Further, acknowledging the money would have compounded the issue. We probably would have blamed him less for the deal and dollars component, but also acknowledging a mercenary element to his decision would not have done him any favors.

So he said what he said. Cliches about wanting to win, etc.. In a sense it's a cop out, but at the same time he was probably in a no win situation and did his best to navigate some unavoidable landmines.