Mets ace Jacob deGrom cleared to play catch after MRI on right elbow
Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets looks on before game one of a double header against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Saturday, July 10, 2021 in the Queens borough of New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Well, it can’t all go wrong, can it?
Despite suffering a difficult stretch beset with multiple injuries and losing their spot atop the National League East, the Mets finally got some promising news Wednesday after an MRI on Jacob deGrom’s right elbow showed enough improvement that he was cleared to play catch, manager Luis Rojas said.
DeGrom was spotted on the field before batting practice Wednesday playing a light game of catch, the first time he’s done so since going on the injured list. DeGrom first landed on the IL on July 18 with elbow tightness, but subsequent tests have not shown any ligament damage. He hasn’t pitched in a month and a half. He’s currently on the 60-day IL and is not eligible to return until Sept.13, though acting general manager Zack Scott said Tuesday it likely would be longer than that.
Rojas said there’s currently no timetable on deGrom’s return, though the hope is that he’ll be able to get into some big-league action before the end of the season, even if the Mets are out of the playoff hunt. Rojas didn’t know the exact results of the MRI, and if deGrom’s arm is completely clear of swelling and inflammation. The Mets came into Wednesday’s contest against the Giants 61/2 games behind first-place Atlanta, two games behind the second-place Phillies and far behind in the wild-card race with 37 games left to play.
"It would be huge to have him in the end," Rojas said. If the Mets are at "a perfect point in the season where we’re closing the gap or facing our division it would be ideal, but I don’t have a timeline yet with Jake or how things are going to go starting with today’s clearance of playing catch, but it would be huge to have him back."
And playoff race or not, Scott said seeing deGrom pitch in some capacity could provide the team with a better blueprint on how to handle his offseason.
"We’ll see where we are," Rojas said. "We have to see how he progresses playing catch. If there’s a [red] flag at some point, we’re probably going to be smart about it, but we’ll just see how we are with him and how the progression is, but this is great news that we got from the doctor today."
Before a slate of injuries – including this significant setback – took its toll on deGrom, he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season, and a favorite for a third Cy Young Award. He had a 0.56 ERA at the All-Star break, a mark that eventually dwindled down to 0.50 before bumping up to 1.08 on his last start, on July 7.
Even if perfectly healthy, Rojas said the Mets were still not certain what shape deGrom’s rehab will take.
He added that though losing deGrom has been a significant blow, the Mets aren’t hanging their heads, waiting for their ace to come back into action.
"We’ve faced a lot of things this season and the guys have taken it the best way," he said. "I don’t think there’s any mentality of going negative towards the game because we’re thinking this could be Jake’s day…It’s always good when he’s active and he’s pitching every five days but because he hasn’t been, I don’t think the guys felt sorry for themselves. We haven’t felt sorry for ourselves. We have what we need to compete right here. We can’t ask for anything else."
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
