Jacob deGrom shut down for rest of Mets' season
Manager Luis Rojas said Jacob deGrom should be able to do his normal offseason routine and be ready to go in spring training. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
On the same day the Mets welcomed Noah Syndergaard back to the mound, manager Luis Rojas announced that Jacob deGrom will not pitch again this season.
Until Tuesday, the Mets had held out hope that deGrom, who last pitched on July 7, could make an appearance in the season’s final days.
But, according to Rojas, the decision was made by the organization — with deGrom’s consent — that there was "no point" to the righthander taking the mound before the season ends on Sunday.
"He would be fine to pitch," Rojas said. "But there’s no sense to it."
Rojas said deGrom would "probably" have pitched if the Mets were in a playoff race.
Syndergaard was scheduled to start Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Miami and throw one inning in his first major-league appearance since Sept. 29, 2019.
DeGrom threw a bullpen session on Monday, Rojas said, and showed no ill effects from the elbow injury that ended his season.
Rojas said deGrom should be able to do his normal offseason routine and be ready to go in spring training. But nothing has been normal about deGrom’s absence from the mound.
Earlier this month, team president Sandy Alderson said deGrom’s elbow injury wasn’t just inflammation, as the team previously said, but a slight tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. Alderson emphasized that the issue "has resolved itself" and "the ligament is perfectly intact at this point."
On Sept. 9, deGrom made a statement without taking questions.
"I know what was said, but my ligament is perfectly fine," he said. "I’ve been throwing. So I wouldn’t be throwing if I had a compromised ligament. That’s the plan, to continue to throw and build up and see where we end up. And that’s all I’m going to say."
DeGrom hasn’t spoken to the media since.
DeGrom finished 2021 with a 7-2 record and 1.08 ERA. In 15 starts, he struck out 146 in 92 innings.
DeGrom, 33, has two guaranteed years and $68 million left on his contract. He can opt out after next season. The Mets hold a $32.5 million option for 2024.
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.
