Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

Updated Post – June 10, 19:15

Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters on Friday Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in right scapula) has thrown two bullpen sessions and has a third one scheduled for Saturday.

Showalter also said that Max Scherzer (left oblique strain) is scheduled to throw live BP in the near future.

Original Post – June 4, 17:20

Jacob deGrom threw a bullpen session Saturday, Anthony DiComo of MLB reported. It was his first bullpen since spring training, as the ace has been out all season with a shoulder injury.

DeGrom reportedly threw 19 pitches in the session, all of which were fastballs at “moderate intensity.” It’s a metaphorical baby step for deGrom, but it’s still a notable piece of progress considering the season is already in June, which was when deGrom was originally penciled in to return.

The team has been without deGrom for the whole season and without its co-ace Max Scherzer for some time now as well. Scherzer was reportedly bitten by his dog recently, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported Saturday. It was originally reported to be his non-throwing hand, but the story was updated to have indeed been Scherzer’s throwing hand. Regardless, it’s not expected to affect his rehab.

“My dog Rafi hurt her leg on a run. She was howling in pain and I went to calm her down by putting my hands on her. When I did that she bit my right hand,” Scherzer wrote in a Twitter statement. “Fortunately it wasn’t a bad bite. I took one day off from throwing and was able to long toss the next day. This will have no effect on my rehab and this is literally a non story.”

The approximate timeline for Scherzer to return is July. He’s currently on the injured list with an oblique strain and last pitched for the Mets on May 18. He has a 2.54 ERA in 49 2/3 innings for his new team.

While Mets fans may be growing impatient having to watch their two best pitchers sit on the sideline, both are trending upwards with their injury comebacks and are slated to return relatively soon. The team is 35-19 and has an 8.5-game lead in the NL East even with all the missed time.

The next step for deGrom is to gradually increase the pitch count and intensity of his bullpen sessions.