Jacob deGrom with Syracuse.

Jacob deGrom with Syracuse. Credit: NY Mets/Danny Tripodi

Mets fans who were dreaming of Jacob deGrom making his 2022 Mets debut this Sunday are going to have a wait a few days – and hope it’s truly only a few days.

The Mets announced on Tuesday night that deGrom – who was supposed to have thrown a simulated game in Port St. Lucie earlier on Tuesday – did not.

The Mets said deGrom felt “mild muscle soreness” around his shoulder on Sunday. DeGrom played catch on Monday and Tuesday, the team said, and has had his simulated game rescheduled for Thursday.

DeGrom, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 7, 2021, seemed to be closing in on his first big-league outing of 2022 before this latest setback in his return from a stress reaction in his right scapula.

DeGrom has made three minor-league rehab starts, two for Low-A St. Lucie (he struck out 11 of 18 batters) and one for Triple-A Syracuse (four innings, one unearned run, 42 pitches). He hit 100 miles per hour in each outing.

DeGrom couldn’t make a fourth rehab start this week because the minor leagues are off for the All-Star break. Hence, Tuesday’s scuttled simulated game.

If the simulated game scheduled had occurred and had gone well, he could have made his season debut on Sunday night at Citi Field against San Diego.

Now, the earliest deGrom could possibly pitch for the Mets would be next Tuesday against the Yankees at Citi Field. But that assumes deGrom takes the mound for his simulated game on Thursday and all goes well.

After his outing on Thursday for Syracuse against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (yes, it’s singular), deGrom sounded like a man who thought his rehab was basically over.

“It was very thorough and step by step,” he said. “I had to trust the process and try not to do too much, because if I (got injured) again, I was out for the rest of this year.”

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