Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The ace of the New York Mets will be ready to go as spring training begins.
In a press conference Sunday, general manager Billy Eppler said he hasn’t been informed of any restrictions on Jacob deGrom by trainers.
“I don’t have any reason to be (concerned),” Eppler said. “I haven’t had to debrief with any of the trainers on anything. As far as I know it’s just kind of normal.”
DeGrom has already thrown off a mound this spring, and the Mets have no concerns about his health despite not pitching in games since July.
While not overly surprising since deGrom said he’d be ready to go in late September if the Mets were in a playoff race, it’s a good sign of where the two-time Cy Young Award winner is despite the month-long delay to when pitchers and catchers would’ve reported.
The real specifics of deGrom’s injury last season are still up in the air but he believed it had to do with the positioning of his arm in an MRI machine. The MRI ended up revealing nothing more than a mild forearm strain.
Mets president Sandy Alderson referred to the injury as a partial ligament tear. Eventually, after inflammation subsided it was revealed the UCL was completely intact. In late August, deGrom resumed throwing.
“It’s like, ‘Man, I should be out there playing,” deGrom told MLB.com back in November. “’I should be out there taking the ball every fifth day.’ So it’s just frustrating. I was definitely frustrated. It was one of those things that I just couldn’t get rid of it.”
Prior to his shutdown just before the All-Star break, deGrom was on a historic pace. He had a 1.08 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched.
Over the last two seasons, deGrom has missed time due to injuries to his elbow, lat, back, neck, shoulder, and forearm.
The Mets have added insurance to their rotation with Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, but the strength of New York’s starting five relies on the health of deGrom.
