Even though he never managed the right-hander in Queens, Carlos Mendoza understands the significance that Jacob deGrom has in Mets lore.

For the first time since he signed with the Rangers as a free agent after the 2022 season, Jacob deGrom is set to face the team he left behind. Texas has listed the 37-year-old deGrom as the probable

Jacob deGrom está emocionado por regresar al lugar donde comenzó su carrera, el estadio local donde cumplió 109 de sus 245

NEW YORK — Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom didn’t dominate, but he didn’t have to. In Friday’s 8-3 win against his former team, deGrom’s first start against the Mets, their former ace served as a glaring contrast to a rotation that’s gone from the team’s biggest strength to its most glaring weakness.

Coming back to Citi Field provides a good opportunity to reflect on deGrom’s Mets legacy. The former Met great’s return comes at the same time that they are relying on their new wave of phenom pitchers to lead them to success.

The New York Mets excel at irony, and so, of course, they will welcome back their last ace pitcher to Queens at the precise moment they could use someone like him the most. As New York coughs away ground in the wild-card race with night after night of subpar starting pitching, Jacob deGrom will start in road grays at Citi Field on Friday night.

Jacob deGrom is returning to Citi Field, this time as the starting pitcher for the visiting team for the first time in his career. The former Mets ace and two-time Cy Young winner, who signed a five-year deal with the Rangers prior to the 2023 season, will get the ball Friday as the Rangers kick off a three-game series.

“Crazy? Probably,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Jonah Tong opened against former Mets ace Jacob deGrom. The first inning of the first night of the gambit couldn’t have gone worse than it did.