Mets ace Jacob deGrom departed the team’s instrasquad game after one inning Tuesday because of back tightness, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets.
It’s not yet clear whether this issue will jeopardize deGrom’s chances of taking the ball for the Mets when their season opens July 24. As Tim Britton of The Athletic points out, though, back tightness did prevent deGrom from making an Opening Day start in 2018.
If the Mets are going to break their three-year playoff drought in 2020, it stands to reason they’ll need a healthy deGrom continuing to lead their pitching staff. The 32-year-old is irreplaceable, having won back-to-back National League Cy Youngs and consistently provided front-line production since he debuted in the majors in 2014. He fired 204 innings of 2.43 ERA/2.67 FIP ball with 11.25 K/9 and 1.94 BB/9 last year.
Of course, with righty Noah Syndergaard out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, deGrom is all the more important to the Mets’ cause. Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz and Michael Wacha are slated to make up the rest of what should be a solid rotation if healthy, but the Mets’ depth looks questionable (Walker Lockett and Corey Oswalt may be first in line for starts in the event of an injury).
If the Mets make the playoffs without Degrom (If the injury is more serious) and Thor than they should be favored to win NL east 2021. Assuming they resign important players or sign player with similar production as the ones leaving in FA. They’ll probably add too with (if) Cohen as the owner
Do you think the Mets have any chance without DeGrom tho? Not trying to be snarky – curious to see what your reasoning is, because it seems like a tall order to me
I don’t think they have a chance to win a WS or even a playoff series without Degrom. But they are 7 spots for playoffs this year and I think the Mets offense could carry them. If the bullpen is ass forgot about it they won’t make it. But bullpen are very year to year and if our bullpen pieces that have been good before do good this year. They could make the playoffs with a elite lineup/bullpen. I wouldn’t think we would win division. I said if they do win tho.. they should be favorites next year
Five playoff spots, not seven. Nothing has been changed for 2020.
Sorry. Where are you getting the 7 spots from? I’m not trying to argue with your point. I’m just confused.
It’s five teams. The players had proposed seven but that proposal wasn’t agreed on.
I got confused bc I was arguing with a eagles fan some here else. That’s still no excuse but I was brain dead for a sec lol
That was my bad. I was talking about football before the sentence and I made huge brain fart mistake
5* spots
As a Mets fan, I think without deGrom, they’d have a really tough chance of making the playoffs. The division will be hard to win. The Braves are great, Washington are defending WS champs (albeit a slightly weakened team, imo), and the Phillies are kind of a question mark (I happen to think they’re around a .500 team, but I could be wrong).
Without deGrom, the best chance would be a Wild Card, I would think. However, with the season being only 60 games and the total unpredictability of COVID infections and players missing time, this is going to be a wild season. If you’re even a .500 team on paper, you’ve got a chance to make the playoffs.
Yes I agree with you. They would have a a very hard time. I just said if they do win it. They should be favored for 21
The offense will increase because his teammates refuse to try in the games he pitches. Every year he knows if he gives up 2 runs he has no chance of winning the game.
1. they wolnt do that though 2. again with the unbased faith in Cohen
You never know. They could have the best lineup/bullpen in the division. I’m not saying they will win. Even Ik losing Degrom and Thor would put us in a horrible spot and would finish closer to 5th than 1st bc of that. But they could win it you never know. Their lineup is elite. And their bullpen has a chance to be. Braves I think are very top heavy and if freeman or acuna go down they have no shot. Phillies have little pitching. And Nats have little offense
Why do you say the lineup is elite? Where is the evidence? Also, the defense was substandard in 2019 and hasn’t been upgraded.
Well, I’m just gotimg to say I’m not the only one who thinks they are elite. Most sites have them top 10 and mlb.com just put them at 6
I don’t know about elite, but they’ve got a great offense on paper, especially if Cespedes stays healthy and can DH. Cano should have a much better season (check out his 2nd half stats–129 OPS+). A healthy Nimmo would be a good ‘addition’ to the team as well (162 OPS+ in the 2nd half, though it was only 26 games). Rosario played better in the 2nd half (112 OPS+).
Again, I wouldn’t say elite, but they should be a good offense.
Every year on paper the Mets look good and every year your boys have injury after injury. We know how it’s going to play out in 21 lol.
Nats win one championship and they feel good huh… I hope enjoy this season. It might be the last good one for a while.
To your defense, anything can happen in 60 games. So I can’t say you don’t have a shot because everyone does have a shot This season. All I’m saying is in a normal season, degrom or no degrom you are not likely to win your division. It could happen your right, I could also win the lottery but that’s not likely.
I just honestly don’t see where the offense is Going to be coming from. Outside of Alonso( who only hit .250) one other guy hit 30 or more bombs. I highly doubt peter hits 50 again. He could and it wouldn’t surprise me but it’s probably not likely.
Eventually the pitching can’t continue to be that good, someone will come back down to earth. To your credit, You guys pitch out of your minds every year. Someone will take a step back sooner or later(One of the greatest sustained runs of starting pitching ever seen) and I don’t believe the offense is as good As mets fans think it is, just my opinion.
This isn’t a knock on your team, the pitching is incredible.
Been hearing that for years. The window was supposedly closed when Harp left. News flash we have Stras/Corbin for 5 more years. I’m sure we can work another 2 year deal with Max after next year. Soto/Robles/TT for several more years. We’re not going anywhere.
Lol yes you are. Your offense is easily the worst from Braves Phillies and Braves. And Stras and Corbin won’t be able to carry it. The marks on will soon be good too. Nats are in for a rebuild
Keep telling yourself that to make you feel better. Pitching wins in October and there’s nobody with a better staff than the Nats. If having a below average offense means I get to watch 3 of the top 15 best pitchers in the game for the next 3-5 years then I’ll trade offense for that any day of the week.
Sign Andrew Cashner
Said the other NL East teams.
Are the Mets really better than Washington, Atlanta, or Philadelphia in the division?? Trade DeGrom and hopefully be good in 3 years.
Lol
Lol at the guy who thought there were going to be 7 teams in the playoffs.
You’re completely right. I was just on a football blog too and I got confused. I have no Idea why I wrote that and it makes me look dumb as hell lol..
I’m not sold on the Mets as much as some, but even I think this is the most ridiculous comment in the world.
A defense that bad has never made the playoffs. 4th place team in all likelihood.
They are particularly dreadful up the middle. No organizational depth, either. They won’t be passing Atlanta anytime soon.
They will. That’s where you are wrong
Based on what? Atlanta has stockpiled a ton of young talent.
Based on what can’t the nets pass them. It’s not like the Mets don’t have young talent too.
Nimmo
Mcniel
Alonso
Rosario
Gimmenez
Davis
Degrom (not young)
Thor
Matz
Stroman
Pederson
Smith
Conforto
And Rosario nimmo are up the middle. They aren’t the best fielders but they aren’t dreadful offensively. Next year they will both be well above avg
I got to say, and I don’t mean this sarcastically, you are the most positive Mets fan I ever met. I grew up in Queens. I’m currently still in NYC. There’s plenty of justifiable excitement around this team, but no one is as sure as their success as you are, and I think that’s great.
I’m very optimistic. But when Braves fans say they will dominate the next decade it’s stupid. I’m not saying the Mets will. But the marlins are on the come up. The Mets have young talent. And the Phillies always spend. The Braves won’t win back to back NL east again. Starting 2021 when the real seasons start.
@metsfan22 While I agree with most of your statements. It’s not that they think the Mets don’t have good young talent, they do. But that talent imho isn’t comparable to acuna. No player on your team has that type of ceiling. He could go 40/40 and be the fifth player in history to do it. He is that good.
The Braves don’t have your pitching. No team does imo besides the nationals. The Mets are like nationals light(would be a great beer name). Phillies can always make a splash with stoooooopid money.
I would take acuna and Albies over any two of your Young guys 7 days a week. Possibly even any three of your guys. No knock on your guys, them young Braves guys are just that good.
They have young talent up now that will be stars for a long time, but they were sanctioned recently, so it could make a dent in their farm depth. Then again, it could be a Patriots’ situation where punishment doesn’t have much of an effect.
Your right about acuna.. we have nobody that will ever be him. Only the Nats have a comparable player. But we are deeper. They have 3 really good players a bunch of meh. We have a solid lineup where no hitter is below avg. cano was hurt last year so I’m going to wait on him. And Ramos isn’t below avg for a catcher. As for Albies I’m not big on him. I think Mcniel is a better hitter than him. Don’t get me wrong he is a good player. But no superstar
And the bad news begins.
What bad news? He should be good in a week.
You mentioned earlier that seven teams will make the playoffs in each league. That is not true. It will still be five teams per league.
Yes. I wasn’t thinking. It was one of those moments where you make a mistake and don’t look bad but you knew before hand at the moment you just messed up
Man, you guys are really hammering him on that mistake.
Bro I was just talking about football like a minute before and I got confused. Lol they don’t stop
You forgot about David Peterson as the fifth starter
Mets should of spent the money to keep Wheeler instead of signing Porcello,Wacha and Bentances. Sometimes quality is better than quantity.
Nah. Let the Phillies overpay.
@nyyfan I agree. However, Porcello has shown he can be very good. We will see. I did like mets fan response to let Phillies overpay. That was funny. The problem is they will gladly overpay. Eventually it may pay off overpaying, then it may not be so funny.
What’s the condition of deBride ??
Gee, I guess that means someone else will have to win the Cy Young Award with a 2-5 record this year,
Hi flew ….. lol you ain’t right my guy….. too funny. Imo degrom, max, and Verlander are the best in the game. The other guys actually win more than ten games a year though you are right. Could you imagine if this was the 90’s. He wouldn’t have won any cy Youngs. If it weren’t for all these advanced metrics the voting would be much different.
That’s not to say the metrics are wrong, to the contrary. It allows ppl like myself to appreciate de grom more. It’s not his fault he didn’t get the run support needed at times. However, I just can not imagine anyone winning the cy in 1990 something with ten wins. It wouldn’t happen.
No knock on trout but he would not have won the one mvp when he hit 29 home runs. I don’t care how many times you walked or what your on base was. Lots of guys in the 90s had the same if not more runs, with better counting stats. Again it was advanced metrics that made us change how we view what is good. He doesn’t have to hit 50 bombs and 150 rbi like a Juan Gonzalez to win. It’s a new day for sure though, so Jacob doesn’t need to win 20.
Your right he doesn’t need to win 20 but I think the CY Young winner should at least win 12-15. Does this also mean he gets into the Hall of Fame with less than 200 wins?
Who cares about pitcher wins? It’s a practically arbitrary stat
@nyy fan- no I totally agree there needs to be a line. Ten wins is ridiculous my guy. Good point about the hall of fame, never thought about that.
Dont know if your pro or con against degrom with your comment on the cy young but on the yr he went 10-9 , if the mets scored 3 runs in all those games he would have had a record that would have been video game like. If i remember something close to 25 and 2
I said he has poor run support. I’m pro de grom but I’m with the other guy who says you need to win at least 12 games. I know it’s not his fault. I’m allowed to see it both ways my guy.
Advanced metrics show him as the best. I dig it
I just think sometimes the hypothetical stuff is a bit much. Ken Griffey would have had the record if he played all his games, so I don’t like to deal in if. Same with trout he’s the best and people always say if his team was better blah blah. Well they aren’t better. So no knock on you but I deal in reality not if. If NYY don’t get hurt as much they’d win every year….. see how if works?
I fully support de grom and I understand your point. Just think he needs to win a few more games, not his fault.
How many games did he lose and get a no decision while giving up no runs,1 run or 2 runs? Voters had to look past his w.l to see what kind of monstrous season he had….a little like ted Williams and eddie murray not exactly being kind to the media but no way were they not 1st ballot h.o.f ‘ers( you had to vote them in on 1st yr availability) ..jim rice taking so long i cant explain and jeff kent is still a massive mystery why he isnt in.
Look guy I agree with you, and Kent should definitely be in. The flip side is all the years Scherzer didn’t have much run support, he’s lost a lot of low run games where his team couldn’t muster another run or two. But he still had a no decision or a loss. You can not penalize pitchers who win games because your offense can’t score enough runs. The advanced metrics show that guy is really good and I credited him as such. But if he has a 1.9 era with ten wins and some other guy has a 2.2 or even a 2.4 with 20 wins I like the 20 game winner. This is all hypothetical and just my opinion my guy. I think 10 games is ridiculous.
Just like I said Mike hitting 29 homers and winning mvp was ridiculous. That’s not to say mike and no on aren’t deserving, they are. But there needs to be some type of line drawn with the advanced metrics. If your on base is .450 but you score 120 runs that’s good. But there’s a guy with an on base of .380-.400 who scores 100-110 and kills him in the counting stats I like the guy with the counting stats. On base only matters if your a substantially more amount of runs. Otherwise you can get on base all you want it doesn’t make a difference. But ops plus doesn’t look at it like that. Same with era plus. It’s slightly flawed. You can pitch to a .9 era it doesn’t matter unless you win games. Again not his fault I like the guy.
I’m not knocking either him or trout that’s just my opinion, You Are wearing me out my guy. We been going back and forth for two days over this. I LIKE the guy. It’s not a knock stop taking it so personal.
Trout is hands down the best player in the sport.
No need to get triggered, we all know that. But this isn’t the year 1890, you should hit 30 or more to win the mvp uNless you have a 200 plus hit season. Which he never has had and never will. I guess walking is more important lol.
He is the best guy in the game right now. Nobody said he wasn’t. Your reading comprehension skills are lacking my guy. I know ppl can’t even invoke his name without ppl being triggered. I’m Sorry it won’t happen again dad.
Want ppl triggered? Say steve trout is the best trout that ever played..watch all the angels fan come out of tge woodwork now
Why are you making up arbitrary rules for MVP qualification? The best, or at least most valuable player should win.
Nobody is making up arbitrary rules it just comes a point where the advanced metrics narrative doesn’t add up. Everyone hits home runs in today’s game. It’s not the end all be all stat I get it. But if you don’t hit 30 home runs you better have 200 hits or steal 50 plus bases or do something impressive besides walk more than everyone else.
When bonds walked a lot he slugged outrageously higher of a slug percent(over .800 before) and walked twice as much before. Bonds had years at a 1.4 ops no player will ever do that again. So I’m not knocking guys who walk but I want to be more impressed with your numbers than just that .450 on base that gets you to that high of an ops and ops plus. I’m allowed to have my opinion man and your allowed to have yours.
I just feel like this isn’t 1890 people hit 30 plus all the time. Sure he had a ton last year but I didnt say last year. He deserved it big time last year.
My guy, if Thats making arbitrary rules than count me in lol. I think ten wins for a pitcher is ridiculous and I think if you don’t go 30 and 100 behind the plate it’s ridiculous(plenty of years he doesn’t have 100 rbi). Not saying rbi is that important but it can’t be fully discounted. Not saying the guy who went 30
And 100 with a .259 avg and .325 obp deserves it…. not saying that at all. It’s strange to see ppl say home runs hits And rbis don’t matter(Or don’t seem to matter to them). At some point you won’t have any stat left to say the guy leads in. The only thing is ops plus because of the walks(doesn’t hit his way on base), and war. The war is only so high cause he plays center(not even a top 3 cf defensively). He’s a good cf but not the best defensively, You get more war for playing center than any other position. Maybe shortstop.
Again your taking it wrong by thinking I’m saying they aren’t the best. Nobody is saying that so get that through your heads. Trouts the best all around player. Nobody hits 300 and steals 20-40 every year and hits 30-40
Bombs MOST years except him on the regular. Your seeing a boogy man when he isn’t there.
I’m not saying he’s not the best, I’m just critical of him. Get over it. It’s not going to change anytime soon.
@mets fan that was funny I thumbs upped you.
It just seems as if you’re complaining about analytical stats which give a better idea of who a player is and saying basically that we need to base awards on less accurate stats, cuz reasons. Makes no sense at all to me.
If a pitcher can win the CY Young with 10 wins then the MVP should goto a player like what DJ LeMahieu did last year for the Yankees with all there injuries he didn’t get enough credit.