Jacob deGrom hasn’t thrown since a July 30 setback in his recovery from elbow inflammation prompted a two-week shutdown. With that initial shutdown having passed, there’d been some hope deGrom could restart his throwing program in the coming days. That, however, won’t be the case.
Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) that deGrom’s shutdown will last at least another two weeks. Rojas stressed that deGrom isn’t dealing with structural damage and that the inflammation is improving. That said, it’s apparently not progressing quickly enough for him to begin throwing again before late August, at the earliest.
Hope remains that deGrom will be able to return to the majors at some point this year. That window of opportunity’s dwindling, though, with just seven weeks remaining in the regular season. In a best case scenario, deGrom begins a throwing program two weeks from now. He’ll need some time to build up arm strength before he can embark upon a minor league rehab assignment.
The Mets could expedite that rehab process by building deGrom up to work in shorter stints, just as they’re leaning towards brining Noah Syndergaard back as a relief weapon. In such a scenario, deGrom could still serve as a starting pitcher, but scheduling constraints make it unlikely New York will have the luxury of building deGrom up to work 100+ pitches with regularity for the stretch run.
Needless to say, losing the best pitcher in baseball has dealt a tough blow to the Mets. deGrom looked to be coasting to his third career Cy Young Award (and potentially the NL MVP award) early in the season. Over fifteen starts, the 33-year-old tossed 92 innings of 1.08 ERA/1.74 SIERA ball.
Despite a series of injuries to key position players, the Mets remained in first place in the NL East for much of the early summer — thanks largely to deGrom’s absurd level of dominance. A bout of forearm tightness sent him to the injured list on July 18, though. The accompanying elbow inflammation is now set to cost him at least a significant chunk of the season’s second half.
The Mets have fallen on hard times in recent weeks. New York has gone 11-13 since placing deGrom on the IL, with the rotation posting a disappointing 5.71 ERA/4.74 SIERA over that time. The skid — coupled with the Phillies’ recent hot streak — has put the Mets a half game back of Philadelphia and a half game up on the Braves in a tightly-contested division race.
Obviously, there’s still plenty of opportunity for the Mets to take ahold of the division. They’ll have to go at least a majority of the stretch run without their ace, though, leaving New York relying on a starting staff including Marcus Stroman, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill, Taijuan Walker, Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.
That’s still a talented group, but there’s also a fair bit of uncertainty. Stroman has been excellent all year, and the unheralded Megill has stepped up with 45 innings of 3.20 ERA/3.80 SIERA ball over his first nine big league starts. (Tim Britton of the Athletic explored Megill’s rapid rise in the organization this morning in a piece that should be of interest to Mets fans). The veteran group at the back of the rotation comes with plenty of question marks, though.
Carrasco has only made three starts this year because of a hamstring tear. He’s a highly accomplished pitcher at his best, but it remains to be seen if the 34-year-old will be able to pitch at his peak level down the stretch. Walker began the year well but he’s been hit hard over his past five starts. Hill has pitched well overall but seen his swinging strike rate plummet recently, and Williams struggled with the Cubs and has only made a single MLB appearance for the Mets to date.
That’s so Mets.
Paging Jake Arrieta. Get YOUR VACATION . The Mets are Calling
No
Double NO
Just like the team he plays for, deGrom’s season is over
Mets are a half game back math is hard
Their next 13 games are against the Dodgers and Giants. They will lose at least 9 or 10 of those games and fall further back
How have the Mets been playing the past 3 weeks? I will wait.
Be careful they might shock and frustrate you by winning this weekends series vs the dodgers
Half a game out
3 teams in that race going for one spot ! Will be something if it’s the acuna less braves that win out !
Another CLUELESS CRANKEES Heard From
My condolences to deGrom …. not the Mutts.
This is life as a Mets fan. They ruined Santana and now Degrom.
There’s something they’re not telling us. This case makes no sense. If they honestly have no idea, why are the team doctors still employed?
This team is the same old garbage under Cohen. Who hires a guy that was here a few years ago with all of these exact same issues continuing? These clowns make it so hard to be committed to this team.
No. deGrom ruined deGrom with that extra velocity. The team did not tell him to ramp up the heat. He’s 33 yo, and guys that age don’t increase velocity without some related physical repercussions. Fortunately, to this point, it’s all been fairly minor. His body is trying to warn him. Just hope he listens.
Bingo.
Can’t wait to hear how Metsfan22 enlightens us with how the Mets are still going to run away with the division. Should be a good read.
Or how this is somehow good for the Mets.
He should just get the TJ now to start the recovery clock.
Lol he doesn’t have a torn ucl weird comment
Don’t worry, it’s coming.
At this point, it’s obvious he’s going to need some kind of surgery. Inflammation, despite inactivity, shouldn’t persist for this long. It’s probably best to get it over with now, rather than wait until the offseason only to find he’ll need a year plus to recover.
I’m not a doctor, just an armchair manager. It sounds like something secret is going on behind the scenes and surgery is likely. Dunno, but baseball is missing out on one the best 6 inning starters of this time period and that is a bummer.
He had TJ early in his career. Inflammation is not an ulnar tear.
They don’t care. Facts don’t matter. They just want to troll Mets fans. I’ve dealt with jerks like them all my life living among entitled Evil Empire fans.
Entitled Yankee fan here. Always thankful I was raised properly: Yanks, Jints, Rangers, Knicks.
Welcome to the pseudo Big Time, @Brooklyn.
Every fan base in MLB gets on the Yankee hate train. That’s the price of success, bud.
Truly sucks about deGrom, however. Was looking like he was going to earn a third Cy Young. Going to be tough to do now.
But inflammation CAN make it hard to see a tear. Doesn’t mean he will need TJ, but it is possible
I’ll quote analysts during every NBA draft the last 20 years+.. “Needs to add bulk.”
Lol they have ZERO chance at playoffs this year. Philly looks decent with Harper hot but as in years past with him on the Nats he’s not able to carry them to the promise land. The Phils lack supporting cast to carry into playoffs. Atlanta has looked strong lately (minus the mind boggling decision to keep Will Smith as closer). The SP isn’t a known commodity but performing quite well considering the injuries. Anderson back soon will only help the cause. Mets problem is poor hitting by their “big money” players and most likely fatigue on the rest of SP namely Walker and Stroman. It’d be smart just to completely rest deGrom for the rest of the year and REGROUP the coaching staff when it pertains to hitting coaches and strength coaches. Even then though, this team can’t keep up with the current teams in front of them, Atlanta has been without Soroka, Ozuna, and Acuna and still got passed these Mets. Hate to say it, more mo way needs to be spent on the roster just to keep up NEXT year.
PHILLY is The WORST DEFENSIVE TEAM IN THE DIVISION & Will Finish Behind NY
Mets are one of the worst offensive teams in all of baseball. Their rotation is also worse than the Phils now. Let’s all talk crap about how we’re slightly better than the other flawed teams in the division.
All 3 teams aren’t great. Braves have the most consistency. So they’re my pick. Phillies have a real shot because they have handled division opponents really well. They don’t have a losing record against anyone in the NL East. Mets chances will ride on the next 13 games. If they win 6 or 7, they have a real shot. If they lose 9 or more, I think they’re toast.
Why are the Mets fans who frequent this board so weirdly aggressive? Asking as a fellow Mets fan.
Our schedule is brutal. Unless the offense plays up to its capabilities—something that hasn’t happened all season—we don’t stand much of a chance.
So there’s theoretical hope, but if I were betting money I would not be betting on us right now.
Mets have 26.4% odds to win NL East and 27.9% odds to reach the playoffs. *PRECISELY* non-zero chance.
Realmuto. Segura. McCutchen. Torreyes. Didi is getting hot. Hoskins is almost back. Starting pitching is Wheeler (now the Cy Young favorite), Nola, Suarez (building up shortly to 100 pitches per start), Gibson, and hopefully Eflin. Bullpen back end is actually good. I would beg to differ about that Philly supporting cast.
Nobody is afraid to play the Phils. It’s Segura, Harper, JT, then everybody else.
It is Wheeler, Nola, and then everybody else.
It umm…. [insert someone?} then everybody else which is basically the entire bullpen.
With that being said, the predictability of baseball will say an NL East team will outperform an NL West team in the postseason.
At the end of the day, the Giants are overachievers. Dodgers are still the class of the league and division.
You’re dismissing quite a lot of talent. And the Phillies rotation actually looks decent with Gibson and Suarez. Offensively Hoskins, Realmuto, McCutchen cannot be overlooked and have had hot bats.
I will say that the Phillies are very flawed. Their holes are gigantic and they get very little from the bottom of the lineup. But there’s enough talent on the roster to cause some damage. Definitely two tiers below the top teams, but silly to just dismiss them. They’ve looked really good since the deadline.
Von, you’ve been a realist about the Phillies and the rest of the NL East all season. The Phils, Mets, and Braves each have a real shot, irrespective of the homerism in these threads. Each team has its strengths and weaknesses. Each team had/has a mass of injuries. And each will be fighting hard to win.
Though, like you, I think the Braves are the most consistent, but that’s just my personal opinion.
Exactly right rennick. All 3 teams are very much alive which is super exciting. I think the Braves are the best team on paper, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the Mets or Phils take it.
Gibson was an important acquisition. It stabilized the Phillies rotation. It does depend on how hot the bats stay and how streaky good they get from the rest of the batting order. But they will be in it to the end.
If he was still alive, Bob Gibson would fake a sigh of relief…
…and then go out and pitch 9 innings as usual with no pitch count.
……..and not get injured
Mets press announcement:
Player has a minor scratch on his arm, will be out 3-4 days.
Reality:
Arm amputation
Thoughts and prayers
Turn out the lights the party’s over; just rest him until next year and get him a PRP injection.
In today’s world I can’t even say who has sung. 🙂
Mets killed what ever slim chance they had by not acting at the deadline.
New Owner and same old Mets management.
Hey all have a great weekend!
I’ll say it, the calorie challenged lady has sung
Just get the TJ now and see you in 2023.
Bummer. I hate the Mets, but have been rooting for DeGrom to make history. Dude is incredible
Agreed. I love watching him pitch, except for when he is on the mound against my team.
Not impossible at all that his attempt to make “history”, throwing max effort every pitch, is what caused this. Pitchers with great stuff know they can get most hitters out at 90%, hold some in reserve for the tough hitters and situations so they can give extra length in games to save the bullpen, and certainly give length during the season by being available to take the mound every 5th day. That’s an ace. You’ll often see top fastball pitchers hitting peak velocity in the last inning they expect to pitch. They empty the tank. DeGrom this year started emptying the tank from the very first pitch, and he’s been dealing with multiple injuries. He’s also approaching his mid-30s. Injuries will become more common. He’ll probably need to alter his approach.
If Degrom can’t pitch in the postseason will will not go to the WS… but my prediction was based on having him on our team…
Don’t worry. No one is going to hold you accountable for that prediction. Mets have a real shot at missing the playoffs.
Your prediction was clearly genius, and you are misunderstood. Obviously we won’t hold you accountable for this Injury
So your prediction was that Degrom would pitch all the way until the playoffs and then get hurt? nah bro, don’t rewrite history and just stand by your words.
You clearly meant that the Mets would make the postseason even without Degrom, but couldn’t win it all without him.
The scary thing is, it’s very possible that he misses some if not all of 2022 as well. Maybe this will be a precautionary tale. Humans aren’t meant to throw that hard.
As for the Mets playoff chances, they need consistent offense, especially now that their pitching is falling apart. They’ve struggled offensively and their schedule the next 2 weeks is tough, but they also play the Nats a lot which will help.
My prediction is Braves > Phillies > Mets, but it’ll be close.
Being a Mets fan seems so hard
Try being a Mariners fan….. my sympathies to the Mets… RIP
Hence why the calls for the team to trade away some of our limited minor league depth for rentals were beyond dumb. Without DeGrom and with an offense that has never gotten it into gear, this season is toast.
Just imaging how much better we will be once the deGOMINATOR comes back! Though we are still the best team in the NL without him….lol. Division champs, baby!
They may not see any sign of structural damage, but something is causing inflammation even after being shut down for weeks. Sometimes the inflammation can hide the cause, and the damage isn’t noticed until the inflammation recedes. Hopefully Jacob is ok, but this remains concerning. Not convinced we’ll see him back this year.
This happened to me back in the day. Forearm tightness, elbow inflammation that doesn’t go away after weeks of not even picking up a ball.
There’s a problem, folks.
Ding-dong…..who’s at the door? Why, it’s Tommy John.
The Mets are always injured. I know this doesn’t directly relate to deGrom, but the more the Mets invest in free agent signings, the more they get injury prone has beens.
At least deGrom isnt hunting wild boar on his ranch.
Should he still win the Cy Young – and would he deserve to – if he only pitches a couple more games this year? (Assuming he’s equally as dominant in say 3-4 more starts)
Couple? No. 3-4 dominant starts? No again. Others, like Wheeler, will still wind up with more quality innings. Besides, many are saying he may be down for the rest of the season, so we probably won’t have to worry about that. Damn shame. He was so much fun to watch earlier this year
Yes, if he keeps his ERA down, which I highly doubt he will because he can’t use the sticky stuff, then he has an outside chance if he has at least 4 more starts of one run or less for 6-7 innings.
Not able to use the sticky stuff so now he has to relearn how to pitch so he goes on the IL, way to go Degrom don’t want to spoil your payday by pitching like a human instead of an immortal and negotiations for a contract go south on you.
2 weeks is up.