Mets ace Jacob deGrom continues progression with another bullpen session
Jacob deGrom #48 of the Mets looks on before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Sunday, May 29, 2022 in the Queens borough of New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Jacob deGrom’s comeback continues to go smoothly, the Mets say, though he appears to be a tad behind Max Scherzer’s late June/early July timeline.
More than 11 months since he last pitched in a regular-season major-league game, deGrom completed another bullpen session Tuesday. That was his fourth since being shut down near the end of spring training with a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade.
His next major step would be facing hitters in a live batting practice/simulated game setting. The Mets have not said when that will happen.
“I’ve got some very loose dates on everybody,” manager Buck Showalter said of injured players’ eventual returns. “I’ve looked at the possibilities of when they might show up, but I’m not married to it.”
Meanwhile, anticipation builds for the day when deGrom and Scherzer both are in the rotation, as designed by the Mets in the offseason.
Scherzer said he tries not to think about it.
“I gotta just do me,” he said. “I’m cheering him along as best I can, but he can only go as fast as he can. And I can only go as fast as I can. So I’ll pitch when I can pitch.”
McCann closer
Of the other injured Mets, James McCann seemingly is closest to returning.
Nearly a month after having surgery to address a broken bone in his left hand, the catcher is close to starting a minor-league rehab assignment, a Mets spokesman said.
Before being sidelined in mid-May, McCann was struggling offensively while starting a bit more than half of the Mets’ games behind the plate, posting a .196/.266/.286 slash line.
Hold on for Colin
Colin Holderman said an MRI showed what the Mets thought it would, a minor impingement of his right shoulder.
He’ll start throwing in a few days and expects to return after the minimum 15 days on the IL (June 24) or shortly thereafter. A Mets spokesman classified him as “week to week.”
Travis check-in
Travis Jankowski said he is targeting a July 1 return from his broken left hand.
He has been doing all of the one-handed activities he can — throwing, taking makeshift swings, running, lifting weights — and has a checkup next week. If the bone has sufficiently healed and he gets clearance to use/grip things with his left hand, as he hopes, that will accelerate his rehab toward minor-league games.
Extra bases
Trevor May (stress reaction in his right humerus) is throwing out to 75 feet and is due for another CT scan before ramping up the intensity of his rehab . . . David Peterson is scheduled to start against the Brewers on Tuesday. His wife, Alex, is due to give birth to their child any day . . . The Mets announced that rapper Jose Reyes, who in his previous career starred for them, will attend Old-Timers’ Day on Aug. 27.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
