DeGrom Will Start Instead Of Vargas Against Yankees on Monday

Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com reports that Jacob deGrom will start in place of Jason Vargas against the New York Yankees on Monday.

The team has the luxury of doing this while keeping their ace on regular rest (he starts today against the Cincinnati Reds) as they have an off day tomorrow. This decision almost certainly is just based on performance alone and it likely means Vargas’ turn will be skipped entirely.

Vargas, 35, started for the Mets yesterday and was charged with three earned runs in only a 1/3 of an inning of work (14 pitches). The team decided to not bring him back in the game once the rain delay was over.

The left-hander has really struggled this year going 2-8 with an 8.75 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings of work (12 starts).

Meanwhile, deGrom has been phenomenal this year despite the fact that he only has a 5-7 record. He has an MLB-best 1.85 ERA to go along with a 0.97 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings pitched (22 starts).