Near the end of spring training, Zac Gallen suffered a hairline stress fracture at the radial head of his right (pitching) arm, and was sidelined for weeks. At the dawn of the campaign, Max Fried injured a hamstring while running the bases and was sent to the injured list. What does this have to do with the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom?
The Mets’ ace believes he suffered his latest injury, shoulder tightness, while hitting, on a swing. Most of us were confused, seeing him shake his arm after a pitch to Eric Sogard in the third inning of his last start, on Wednesday, but the pitcher himself thinks he got hurt whiffing on a Robert Stock fastball in the second frame.
He underwent an MRI on Thursday that showed nothing of concern, and he is already throwing and in line to start next week. According to MLB.com, the soreness is not uncommon for him, the only difference being that he felt it during a start and not after.
“I feel like if it’s anything serious, you can’t touch it [without pain],†deGrom told the Mets’ official site. “It normally gets sore there after I pitch, but not normally during a game. … [To feel it] midgame and then have it not go away, it’s not a normal time to get it. The first two innings, I felt completely fine. I think when I swung and missed up and away, I just aggravated it trying to slow the bat down and then I felt it when I was throwing.â€
The Mets will go ahead and keep him in line to start
The Mets, seeing there is nothing too concerning about the situation, are keeping him under his normal in-between starts routine. He has the blessing of the team doctor and a third party to keep pitching.
The Mets’ ace played catch on Thursday and had a 10-pitch bullpen session on Friday. He will take the ball on Monday if all goes well. Manager Luis Rojas said the team is “approaching this day by dayâ€.
The fact that deGrom hurt himself hitting should serve as a reminder that pitchers shouldn’t be batting at this point.
DeGrom has a .423 average and six RBI.