NEW YORK – Mets ace Jacob deGrom said his injured right shoulder blade feels “completely normal” and that he is waiting for New York paramedics to clear it up to continue throwing the mound.
DeGrom has been sidelined since the end of spring training with a stress response in his shoulder blades. Two-time National League Cy Young Award winner played catch on Friday at 135 feet, but he’s still uncertain when he’ll throw his first bullock cart or be ready for action. motion.
“I feel completely normal,” he said Saturday ahead of New York’s game against Philadelphia. “So I think that’s where it’s going to be, are we pushing for it? Are we? That’s going to be the discussion over the next few days, and when we get to the top, the safest way to go? To solve this problem ? “
DeGrom, 33, says he believes the stress response occurred because spring training was delayed and shortened to four weeks after a 99-day baseball course. DeGrom also missed the second half of the 2021 season because of an elbow injury, adding extra strain on his body to quickly prepare for 2022.
“When I look at it, you’ve got a short promotion and you haven’t been in competition, what, eight months?” he say. “So I feel like maybe that’s what did it for me.”
DeGrom said his shoulder felt normal after a few weeks of rest. He has had multiple MRI scans, and his most recent image shows that his shoulder blades have completely healed. He does not anticipate needing an MRI again but says he will leave that decision up to the Mets medical team.
He says he’s not worried about exacerbating the stress response.
“You know, normally, bones are healthier,” he said. “The last report was good, and they said it was completely healed. So for now, just make sure it handles the throw and nothing pops up.”
The Mets are, of course, largely fine without deGrom. They lead the NL East with a 30-17 record, even behind the teammate Max Scherzer went down this month with an oblique strain expected to have to move alongside him for six to eight weeks.
DeGrom is signed through 2023 on a $137.5 million, five-year deal that includes a $32.5 million club option for 2024, but he can choose not to join the contract after this season.
DeGrom acknowledged that good health for September and October may take precedence over a speedy return if New York stays on track in the post-season period.
“It stinks not being out there,” he said. “That’s what we love to do, compete, and haven’t been able to compete for quite a long time. So that’s where you want to go out, you want to go maybe more than you have to, but then you have to look at it as if, if you go too early, you’re going to lose extra time. So it’s trying to balance all of that.”
GAME NOTES
Mets CF Brandon Nimmo had magnetic resonance imaging of his right wrist on Saturday, but he was dropped from the squad. Manager Buck Showalter said he expected Nimmo could get an injection, but he didn’t predict the New York lead-timer would miss out on significant time. … RHP Yoon Lopez was selected as Triple-A Syracuse and OF Nick Plummer was called up.
