Sports

The Latest: deGrom wants to talk contract with Mets

16 of July 2018

FILE - In this July 26, 2017, file photo, Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer, left, and Bryce Harper look on at a baseball press conference to unveil the 2018 MLB All-Star Game logo, in Washington. Thirteen years after Major League Baseball returned to Washington and almost that long since Mark and father Ted Lerner were chosen as owners of their new hometown team, they finally get to throw their party. The fourth All-Star Game in the nation’s capital and first since 1969 is a celebration of a new generation of Washingtonians rediscovering the connection to baseball that for so long wasn’t a part of the town’s sporting identity. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File),FILE - In this July 26, 2017, file photo, Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer, left, and Bryce Harper look on at a baseball press conference to unveil the 2018 MLB All-Star Game logo, in Washington. Thirteen years after Major League Baseball returned to Washington and almost that long since Mark and father Ted Lerner were chosen as owners of their new hometown team, they finally get to throw their party. The fourth All-Star Game in the nation’s capital and first since 1969 is a celebration of a new generation of Washingtonians rediscovering the connection to baseball that for so long wasn’t a part of the town’s sporting identity. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the All-Star Game (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

Jacob deGrom says he’d love to play his entire career with the New York Mets, but he’s not disputing comments by his agent that the team should either sign him to a long-term deal or trade him now.

The All-Star right-hander said Monday that his future with the team “is kind of in the Mets’ control and kind of out of mine.” He says he has not talked numbers with the Mets on a long-term contract but would be open to those discussions.

DeGrom’s agent, Brodie van Wagenen, told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic that if the Mets aren’t interested in a long-term deal, “we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now.” Van Wagenen added that continuing the status quo “could complicate Jacob’s relationship with the club.”

DeGrom would be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season, when he’ll be 32.

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2:50 p.m.

The AL and NL All-Star managers have revealed the pitchers they’ll be using immediately after starters Chris Sale and Max Scherzer.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will follow Scherzer for the NL. Roberts says he picked Scherzer to start over deGrom because the game is at Scherzer’s home ballpark in Washington.

Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch says the New York Yankees’ Luis Severino will come in after Sale, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays’ Blake Snell.

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2:20 p.m.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will bat sixth for the National League in the All-Star Game in his home ballpark.

Harper is hitting .214 with a .365 on-base percentage, .468 slugging percentage, 23 home runs and 54 RBIs. Despite his hitting struggles, Harper is an All-Star — voted in by fans — for the sixth time in his seven-year major league career.

Nationals teammate Max Scherzer will take the mound for the NL as expected, with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying it’s good for baseball and for the country to give him the ball. Scherzer (12-5) has a 2.41 ERA and a league-high 182 strikeouts.

Sale and Scherzer are both making their third All-Star starts, joining 13 other pitchers with that distinction. Sale is starting for the third consecutive time and is the third player to do that, following Lefty Gomez and Robin Roberts. Both made their first All-Star starts with different teams — Sale for the White Sox and Scherzer for the Tigers.

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