New York Mets: deGrom Deals With Back Issues, Cano Finally Shows

The New York Mets had quite a few headlines from Tuesday. Jacob deGrom left his start with a back issue after one inning and it overshadowed the return of Robinson Cano to summer camp after an eight-day absence.

The first nightmare of summer camp occurred when deGrom surprisingly left the game early. His performance did not indicate any issues, but a grimace for deGrom as he walked off the mound showed something was wrong. It was his second to last start before Opening Day, but the injury changes things around.

All the Mets released a confirmation on deGrom’s injury. He also dealt with similar issues during 2018 Spring Training, but it did not keep him from being ready for Opening Day. Judging from deGrom’s ability to finish the inning, his early exit seemed like a precaution to keep their back-to-back Cy Young winner from causing more damage to his back.

Cano Back in Flushing

While the reasons for Robinson Cano’s absence from summer camp is still a mystery, he returned to camp on Tuesday. Since the Mets’ organizational policy is to keep quiet on player’s absences, the only place to get an answer is from Cano himself. Cano did not speak to the media on his first day back.

Cano’s starting lineup status is still in question for the beginning of the season. Manager Luis Rojas said it all depends on how he progresses in the next week but looks to be in great shape. With an aging veteran like Cano, they know how to get themselves in-game shape better than anyone else. He had a slow start in 2019 and hopes to erase that from Mets fans memories.

Cano’s appearance at camp leaves Brad Brach and Jared Hughes as the final two players who need to report to camp. Rojas had no answer on when to expect them to join the team. Both do not carry the weight of Edwin Diaz or Seth Lugo in the Mets bullpen but are both good enough pitchers where their absence will hurt the team. Their absence opens up opportunities for Drew Smith and Paul Sewald to make the roster.