JUPITER, Fla. — Mets ace Jacob deGrom will not make his opening-day start, and several more after that.
DeGrom’s MRI revealed “a stress reaction on his scapula that has caused inflammation in the area,” the Mets announced on Friday.
He has been shut down from throwing for up to four weeks, then will be re-evaluated with another MRI.
“Again it’s really hard to say,” Mets GM Billy Eppler said on Friday when asked when he realistically expects deGrom pitching a major league game. “You treat patients, the MRIs guide you, but you treat patients. There could be situations where we manipulate the shoulder a little bit, move him around, test him.
“If he doesn’t present with any kind of symptom at that time and everything seems to go well and it goes well for a number of days in a row, then maybe you’re looking at a little bit earlier. I think that, based on what we saw, I think four weeks is probably a reasonable timeline to take another photo.”
Based on that timeline, deGrom’s best-case scenario is missing anywhere from 7-8 weeks of the regular season. He last pitched in an MLB game on July 7, 2021, and missed the next three months with an arm injury.
Max Scherzer is expected to take the hill against the Nationals on April 7 opening day in Washington, D.C. Eppler said he will speak to manager Buck Showalter before officially naming Scherzer the Mets’ new opening-day starter.
“We’re going to do everything we can to support him in every which way we can,” said Mets GM Billy Eppler on Friday. “Jake’s a resilient person. With time, things heal. And so this is another situation where some time will have him healed and we’ll get him back on the hill.”
The Mets first learned of deGrom’s shoulder injury on Thursday, after he played catch. Eppler on Friday said the stress reaction is an injury that was built up over time.
Eppler said deGrom’s immediate absence does not motivate him to acquire pitching help from outside of the organization. The GM said he feels confident in the Mets’ pitching depth, but would not immediately name whom the team will promote to the rotation.
Arms who have spent time building up at spring training include right-handers Tylor Megill and Trevor Williams, as well as left-hander David Peterson.
