The Mets were able to let out a collective sigh of relief when an MRI on ace pitcher Jacob deGrom’s bothersome lat came back clean enough to suggest that he wouldn’t miss an extended period of time.
On Wednesday, deGrom himself all but confirmed that he would be back to make his start this weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks after he was initially scratched from his start Tuesday — which was eventually rained out — after dealing with discomfort on his side.
“Feeling good now,” deGrom said. “The plan is to see the doctor [Thursday], reevaluate, and play catch tomorrow if everything goes to plan.”
The veteran right-hander initially did not realize that anything was amiss after his last start on April 28 against the Boston Red Sox when soreness lingered on his right side.
“I was a little bit more sore after my last start but I didn’t think too much of it,” he said. “I noticed my mechanics were off, looked at some of the video, got some of the numbers, and my arm was down a little bit… I didn’t think too much about it, went about my recovery stuff, and honestly, I felt pretty good.”
It wasn’t until after throwing his bullpen session in Philadelphia while the Mets were playing the Phillies that a red flag was raised.
“I woke up and I noticed my lat was pretty sore and I told them [the Mets],” deGrom said. “Woke up [Tuesday], didn’t notice much of an improvement… I just wanted to get it looked at just to be safe. It’s early in the season and didn’t want to miss too much… Tried to err on the side of caution.”
Shortly after scratching him from his Tuesday start, deGrom underwent the MRI where it was discovered that the issue was in a move favorable position.
“I think after getting it looked at and spotted, it’s in a good spot,” he said. “Any time it creeps up toward the armpit, it’s not good. But the spot it’s in is definitely manageable.”
Should deGrom feel well enough on Thursday, he will not do work from the pitcher’s mound as the round of catch he referred to would be a light session from a flat surface. He would throw a bullpen from a mound on Friday should he continue to trend in the right direction.
