Mets ace Jacob deGrom won't face Yankees as Taijuan Walker rejoins rotation
Mets righthander Jacob deGrom looks on at Yankee Stadium, where he won't pitch Tuesday as Taijuan Walker (inset) returns to the team's starting rotation. Credit: Jim McIsaac; AP/John Bazemore
Jacob deGrom is perfectly fine, Buck Showalter said, but he won’t face the Yankees on Tuesday because the Mets want to prioritize Taijuan Walker, whom they don’t want to lose arm strength by going too long between starts.
So Walker, who had been sidelined by a bulging disc in his back, will pitch the Subway Series finale, the manager revealed Monday. DeGrom will wait until Thursday or Friday against the Rockies, with Chris Bassitt getting the other of those games.
“A lot of factors figured into it,” Showalter said, adding that Walker’s status was “the primary reason.”
The Mets pushed deGrom back in part based on “the feedback we get from him, everybody, kind of where he is.” In his most recent outing, Thursday against Atlanta, deGrom threw 95 pitches, 19 more than his previous season high, a bigger jump than he had been making in his very careful buildup after more than a year away because of injuries.
Showalter also mentioned unsolicited that deGrom had “not a typical warm-up” before that game, though whatever was going on didn’t affect his performance. “He was fine once he got warmed up and everything. Every guy has similar stuff like that,” he said. “Everybody has something. Some great pitchers. He actually improved, being that he threw more than he has. Obviously the priority was Tai. And obviously we felt like they could all benefit from a little extra time with that off day there.”
That leaves deGrom going seven or eight days between his fourth and fifth starts.
“Keep in mind that the torque and the things that you do to create what he creates, we’re trying to be careful. And we have an opportunity,” Showalter said. “The priority is with Tai. We don’t think it’s a bad thing for Jake and for Bass, with the amount of innings that Chris has had this year, to give everybody a little bit of a blow, because we’ve gone a long stretch now where these guys haven’t gotten much extra time. We want to try to stay ahead of it.”
Showalter also didn’t mind splitting up Scherzer and deGrom, given that the best pitchers usually go deepest, perhaps helping with bullpen management. “If you go by track record,’’ he said, “it probably makes sense to split those two guys up from a bullpen/health standpoint.”
Nido returns
Tomas Nido returned Monday after a week on the COVID-19 injured list. To make room for him, the Mets designated lefthander Nate Fisher — the bank worker-turned-big leaguer who tossed three shutout innings in his debut Sunday — for assignment.
To prepare for his return, Nido “simulated catching” at Citi Field, Showalter said.
“Every time our [catcher playing in the game against the Phillies] squatted, he stayed squatted with him,” Showalter said. “He basically watched the game in the cage and followed every squat and every reception from the machine, had somebody feed a ball every time there was a pitch thrown. He pretty much caught a game.”
The Mets now are carrying three catchers: Nido and James McCann, plus Michael Perez, who impressed in his stint as Nido’s fill-in.
Also, the Mets called up Connor Grey, a 28-year-old righthander who had a 5.52 ERA as a regular member of the Triple-A Syracuse rotation. They also sent Jose Butto down to Syracuse and designated Rob Zastryzny for assignment.
Injury updates
Tylor Megill (strained right shoulder) said he’s due to throw live batting practice — his first time facing hitters since getting hurt — on Friday, with a rehab assignment set to follow shortly thereafter. And he’s still aiming for a return late this month/early September. Showalter said Drew Smith (strained right lat) is on track for a similarly timed return.
Tommy Hunter is in a holding pattern, his back still sore after what was supposed to be his final rehab appearance last week.
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.
