NEW YORK _ Jacob deGrom completed a milestone in his progression from minor back tightness by throwing a bullpen session on Friday.
The 17-pitch session was designed to give deGrom the green light to pitch in Sunday's exhibition game against the Yankees. Instead, the Mets prefer deGrom to throw another 50-60 pitch outing in the form of a simulated game back at Citi Field on Sunday. By doing so, the Mets can continue controlling his pitch count and game situations.
"We want him to reach that pitch count, obviously, especially after going that one inning when he got pulled out," Mets skipper Luis Rojas said. "Him going to that sim game will help him reach that mark rather than being in an (exhibition) game where we make pitching changes, he can get pulled out, some things can happen."
The Mets ace exited his Tuesday outing in the first inning of a simulated game with back tightness. DeGrom has continued to feel better after receiving treatment that he said is similar to his pregame routine. He believes the back tightness is simply a product of sleeping wrong Monday night, since the ailment seemingly came out of nowhere for him.
The team is being overly cautious with its consecutive Cy Young award winner, which is the wise route when dealing with even a minor injury to the most important player on the Mets. DeGrom still hopes to start on opening day against the Braves next week.
