Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, is reporting that
right-hander Shaun Marcum has been temporarily removed from the Mets Grapefruit League rotation, but is not injured.
Manager Terry Collins said Marcum wants to concentrate on a long-toss program designed to strengthen his shoulder, which gave him trouble last spring. He will return to game action in early to mid-March.
The Mets aren’t calling it a setback, but it sort of sounds like one to me especially when you consider that Marcum dealt with both elbow and shoulder issues last season.
Marcum, 31, missed over a month and was limited to just 124 innings last season going 7-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 21 starts for the Brewers.
The Mets signed Marcum to a one-year, $4 million free agent contract last month and incentives could make the deal worth $8 million.
In the last 36 hours, the Mets have scratched Marcum (shoulder), Zack Wheeler (strained oblique) and Johan Santana (very low velocity) from their Grapefruit League rotation.
