CINCINNATI — Jacob deGrom will start Friday for the St. Lucie Mets at Daytona in what will be his second rehab start. Encouragingly, that means deGrom will remain on a five-day schedule as the ace ramps up his pitch count and intensity.
DeGrom is expected to throw 35-40 pitches and three innings on Friday. He struck out five of the six batters he faced in his first rehab assignment this past Sunday, hurling 24 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.
As far as how the Mets feel about the 100-mph fastballs deGrom served up in his first time pitching a professional game in a year, well, it’s complicated.
“You see the velocity trend up and you see the injuries trend up, so it’s easy to make that correlation and I think there’s some validity to that, right?” Jeremy Hefner, Mets pitching coach, told the New York Daily News. “It’s very difficult in a competitive environment for a very competitive person to slow down. I think it’s very easy to say: ‘Don’t throw as hard.’ But we don’t know the adverse effects of that. That could actually hurt him more than throwing hard.”
Hefner has talked to deGrom about dialing it back, but at the same time the Mets fully expect the ace to throw triple-digit heaters whenever he does make his season debut. The club does not have enough evidence to prove that his velocity is directly the cause of his injuries over the past year-plus. Hefner believes the velocity concern surrounding deGrom will eventually level out once he gains more experience in the big leagues.
If the Mets had a list of preventative measures for deGrom, they would make sure the right-hander was following it. But Hefner does like the idea that, one day, deGrom will adapt the pitching mechanics of veterans like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Both Verlander and Scherzer will sit around 94-95 mph with their fastball, and then pull out a 97-98 mph heater in a high-leverage situation or when they feel they need to get out of a jam.
“He’s a young man compared to those guys,” Hefner said of deGrom. “It’s just unprecedented. There’s no one who’s been able to do what he’s been able to do. So you don’t really have anything objectively to say, yes you should slow down. Yes, you should throw 96 [mph].
“I would rather a guy go out and be smooth and not necessarily overthrow, because I don’t think he’s overthrowing. I think he’s being smooth and letting the ball come out of his hand naturally. So I think just continuing that process. His body’s going to organize itself so that hopefully we avoid any future injuries, because there’s no guarantee.”
Starting strong
Chris Bassitt will return from the COVID injured list and start against the Marlins on Friday at Citi Field. Bassitt (6-5, 4.01 ERA) missed two turns through the rotation after testing positive for the virus last Friday. Bassitt was able to complete his usual bullpens and workload in his week sidelined and away from the team.
“He’s been good,” Buck Showalter said. “He’s ready to go. He’s been working very diligently.”
Bassitt’s Friday return means Trevor Williams will likely make his final start in the rotation on Thursday. The spot starter has filled in for the starting five as the club navigated its injuries and inconsistencies, but he’s had an up-and-down adventure as a starter. Williams, who flew back to New York on Wednesday ahead of the Mets to be fully rested for his outing against the Marlins, is 1-4 with a 5.86 ERA in seven starts for the Mets this season.
The Mets’ upcoming probables include Carlos Carrasco (9-4, 4.64 ERA) on Saturday against Miami, Taijuan Walker (7-2, 2.86 ERA) on Sunday in the series finale and Scherzer (5-1, 2.26 ERA) in the series opener against the Braves on Monday in Atlanta. All three pitchers will be throwing on an extra day of rest.
Showalter said his starters will fall where they fall and he’s not interested in rejiggering the rotation at this point in the season so that any one pitcher will face a team over the other.
“I just think that’s usually a recipe for overlooking one thing,” Showalter said. “Respect everybody. You can’t make one game, at this stage of the season, more important than the other one. Sometimes those things change as you go forward, but something you think is not a challenge on paper presents itself completely the opposite. So you have to be careful thinking that way.”
Getaway night game
The Mets on Wednesday played their first getaway night game of the season. The Mets will fly back to New York from Cincinnati late Wednesday night, and likely reach their homes around 5 a.m. on Thursday. All of which will be followed by a Thursday night game against the Marlins at Citi Field. Suffice to say, their manager was not happy about it.
“I don’t know how they get away with it,” Showalter said on Wednesday. “We have no say in it at all. Unfortunately, we should be playing a day game today. You think anybody cares? Everybody’s got a tale of woe. The schedule is what it is. It’s still a great way to make a living even if you don’t sleep.
“But it’s not good. It’s not good for the game, quite frankly. Puts some guys in harm’s way and also the level of play sometimes.”
Showalter said the team will be sleepy, lethargic and more susceptible to injury on Thursday following their quick turnaround. The skipper said he could keep going with reasons, but “nobody cares.”
