Exactly one week short of their Opening Day, the New York Mets got some unwelcome news as it relates to their ace, Jacob deGrom.
deGrom was scheduled to start in Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals. But on Thursday evening, news broke that he has a shoulder injury. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News added that he’ll likely miss Friday’s spring training start.
Jacob deGrom has a tight right shoulder, says Buck Showalter. He will likely be scratched from his scheduled start tomorrow and will likely go for tests.
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) April 1, 2022
On the surface, there’s not much to worry about — at least not yet. Teams generally exercise caution with pitchers. The Mets certainly aren’t going to break from that with deGrom — a four-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner — in spring training.
The problem is deGrom’s injury history. In 2021, he left two starts in June early with injuries. On July 7, he threw seven innings, surrendered four hits, walked nobody, and struck out 10. He left the game with a 1.08 ERA and was well on his way to not only a third National League Cy Young, but possibly an NL MVP. Only, that was his final game of the season. He went on the injured list with an elbow injury and never returned.
With that recent memory in mind, Mets fans reacted nervously to this news.
Lmao we haven’t even got to opening day yet. https://t.co/ApSY5IzaoO
— Anthony (@ARusso95_) April 1, 2022
https://t.co/rLH4t5yGVM pic.twitter.com/2gZ7h4YRXZ
— Aléx Young (@AlexYoung) April 1, 2022
Jacob deGrom could literally have both my shoulders. I do not care
— olivia (@oliviapipia) April 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/CaseyJ_516/status/1509712907377983488
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We are not ok
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|_ |_ https://t.co/pifIpxORDh— Mets'd Up Podcast (@MetsdUp) April 1, 2022
For all of the positive moves the Mets made this winter, much of their fortunes still very much rely on the right arm of Jacob deGrom.
Hopefully it’s nothing, but obviously not the news you’re looking for a week away from the season starting. https://t.co/8zmCSIyL4V
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 1, 2022
START PRAYING PEOPLE😭😭😭😭
🕯 🕯
🕯 🕯
Jacob deGrom
🕯 will be 🕯
okay
🕯 🕯
🕯 🕯 https://t.co/WPOeaHFp0h— Stephanie Lynn (@x0stephhh) April 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/genymets/status/1509714175341350918
Andy Martino of SNY also noted that at this point, any pessimism or optimism is purely speculative. Right now, there’s simply not enough information out there to make a good guess on what deGrom’s prognosis will be.
Mets simply can’t assess the level of concern re: deGrom until they have more information tomorrow afternoon, likely via MRI. Developing story. We’ll have more live on GSN at 11.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) April 1, 2022
Certainly, the Mets and the rest of MLB will be following this story closely. Even without deGrom, New York’s rotation is quite formidable. But with him taking the ball every fifth day, the Mets will be a hard team to beat.
