The New York Mets wanted Jacob deGrom to prove that he can return to pitching at a high level, stretching, and doing every little thing in his pre and post-start routine before activating him from the injured list.
As a reminder, the Mets’ ace has been dealing with soreness in his right side since last week. He had to leave his last start after just five innings.
But he aced his latest test, which came Thursday night in the minor leagues. The team had him starting for Low-A St. Lucie, in what was quite an experience for Mets’ minor leaguers.
Fortunately, deGrom, out since May 11 with the aforementioned right side tightness, had no issues striking out eight of the 10 Palm Beach batters he faced in his rehab outing.
The Mets’ hurler felt good afterwards and, as a result, he is now expected to return from the injured list for his next start, a source told MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi. The Mets haven’t confirmed where the start pitcher will next outing.
The Mets will have deGrom available early next week
If the Mets have him pitching with his regular rest, deGrom would return Tuesday to face the Colorado Rockies.
DeGrom reportedly touched 102 mph last night, indicating that he is at full strength and ready to pick up things right where he left them.
DeGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, has been absolutely amazing so far in the 2021 season, with an unbelievable 0.68 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 40 innings.
The Mets can certainly use him in their rotation, as they currently have four stellar starters on the injured list: Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker are also out of action with injuries.
Carrasco and Syndergaard should be back within the next couple of weeks, and Walker could be ready sooner if he has no issues with his own left side soreness.