Jacob deGrom is close to returning to action, but the Mets are still acting cautiously with their ace. After mild shoulder soreness pushed deGrom’s sim game back to Friday, Mets manager Buck Showalter said deGrom probably needs at least one more rehab start before returning.
“He’s going to pitch again, try to get him up where, when he comes back, [he can throw] the innings that he’s capable of going,” Showalter said. “I think it would be good for Jake to get that, mentally, emotionally behind him too.”
The Mets diagnosed deGrom with a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder, forcing the pitcher to miss the entire first half of the regular season. Including his elbow injury from last year, deGrom hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since July 7, 2021.
deGrom has made three rehab starts thus far, one with AAA Syracuse and two with single-A Port St. Lucie. In those starts, deGrom has allowed just five hits and one unearned run in 8.2 total innings.
“It hasn’t been that much fun,” deGrom said last Thursday after his most recent rehab start, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “I’m trying to stick to the process. I want to be up there helping the [Mets].”
