Jacob deGrom's scapula continues to heal; Mets ace will ramp up throwing program
GM Billy Eppler said Jacob deGrom, who has been long tossing from 75 feet, will “get to move back further and throw harder. So those are good things.” after his latest MRI showed he's making progress. Credit: Getty Images/Eric Espada
General manager Billy Eppler said the Mets were “pleased with what they saw” from the latest round of imaging taken Monday on the stress reaction in the valuable right scapula of Jacob deGrom.
“I was happy to get that news,” Eppler said on Tuesday. “He’s going to get to move back further and throw harder. So those are good things.”
Eppler said deGrom is long tossing from 75 feet. He said the Mets have a “general sense” of how long it will take deGrom to get back on a mound, but he’s not going to share it with the public.
Said manager Buck Showalter: “We all get involved in some time frame. I know you want to know and fans want to know: ‘Is he ahead of schedule? Is he behind schedule? Is he on schedule?’ He’s right where he needs to be . . . It’s exciting to think that he’s making progress in being back with us, but we don’t assume anything. Everybody feels good about where he is.”
Marte placed on bereavement list
Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother, who raised him after his mother died when he was young.
Wednesday is the two-year anniversary of the sudden death of Marte’s wife, Noelia, from a heart attack. She was 32.
“It was heart-wrenching talking to him,” Showalter said. “He’s had a tough go . . . He’s home for as long as he needs to be there. I know what his plans are, but that could change. Talking to him, there’s a lot of emotion there. Really tore me up. Still does.”
Buck on rainout
While some might have questioned the Mets’ decision to postpone Monday night’s game at 3:30 p.m. because of the threat of dangerous storms, Showalter said the team and Major League Baseball made the right call.
“I’m really impressed with how often the conversation comes up in those rooms about the safety of the fans,” he said. “It’s real. [Monday] night, it might not have rained where you were, but I even called back on the way home and nobody could leave the building [Citi Field], it was so bad. Not just rain coming down, but the wind, other things. The thought of our fans trying to get to that game and not knowing if we were going to play was something that was on everybody’s mind that was talking in that room. I think that’s real admirable. I can tell you that doesn’t happen everywhere.”
Extra bases
Righthander Stephen Nogosek was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace Marte on the roster. Righthander Adonis Medina was added as the 27th man for the doubleheader, and he went 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the nightcap . . . James McCann (fractured hamate bone in left wrist) underwent surgery. Showalter said the timetable for McCann’s return is still six weeks . . . Hitting coach Eric Chavez left the team because his son is undergoing ACL surgery in Arizona. Chavez will rejoin the Mets on Friday in Denver.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
