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The Mets are hopeful Jacob deGrom’s injured list stint will only cost him one start.
The Mets are hopeful Jacob deGrom’s injured list stint will only cost him one start, but that will hinge on the next time he throws a side session — both for how he feels and how he looks.
The ace officially landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with right-side tightness after leaving Sunday’s start in discomfort. An MRI exam later on Sunday revealed “nothing,” not even inflammation, according to manager Luis Rojas, but the club still erred on the side of caution. The tightness had been affecting deGrom’s mechanics during Sunday’s start, and the Mets did not want that to lead to other issues.
“I want to be out there every fifth day,” deGrom said. “That helped make this decision easier because I didn’t want it to result in turning it into something more serious. … Talking with the trainers and Dr. [David] Altchek, this was the right call, because if you continue to go out there and that’s aggravated and you do change your mechanics, then you could be looking at some serious time, not being able to repeat your delivery and being off.”
DeGrom avoided committing to missing only one start, but Rojas said the Mets were “optimistic” about that prospect, while taking the right-hander’s progression day-to-day.
The Mets, who recalled reliever Sean Reid-Foley to fill the open roster spot, do not yet have a date scheduled for deGrom to throw the side session. With his IL stint backdated to Monday, he is eligible to be activated as early as next Thursday, May 20.
In the meantime, deGrom resumed playing catch Tuesday and will be getting daily treatment to loosen his right side — located in the lower back, a different area from the lat tightness he experienced last week.
“Level of concern is definitely not very high,” deGrom said. “This is minor, let’s keep it that way.”
The schedule will help the Mets compensate for deGrom’s absence, as a pair of off days this week mean they won’t need a fifth starter until next Tuesday in Atlanta. The Mets are leaving Saturday’s starter to be announced, though it lines up for Joey Lucchesi or an opener. Marcus Stroman, who started Tuesday against the Orioles, can then come back on normal rest Sunday, followed by Taijuan Walker on Monday, before the Mets would need another starter.
Jordan Yamamoto, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on May 6, would be eligible to be recalled by next Tuesday to make a spot start.
“We haven’t gotten there yet, just to see who we can bring back,” Rojas said. “For the weekend, I think we’re set.”
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Greg Joyce
