ATLANTA — Though it feels like Jacob deGrom hasn’t started a game in weeks, with all the Mets’ injuries accumulating, it’s actually only been 10 days since his last outing.
That will change on Thursday, as the ace is set to make a rehab start for the St. Lucie Mets in what the team hopes will be his final hurdle before joining the rotation again. DeGrom does not have a set pitch count for his St. Lucie outing. A Mets trainer will be present to better understand how he comes out of it.
DeGrom (right side tightness) this week in Atlanta threw a touch-and-feel and a bullpen. He came out of both sessions with no issues, feeling good and providing positive feedback to the team. The right-hander was eligible to come off the injured list on Friday against the Marlins, but the Mets opted to give him a rehab assignment in Port St. Lucie (where he will reunite with rehabbing pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo) instead.
“We want to see him facing batters,” manager Luis Rojas said. “We want to ramp up the competition level with him.”
This has been a rocky month for deGrom ever since he was scratched from his May 4 start in St. Louis with right side inflammation. He returned to the mound on the earlier side, taking just a few days off from throwing before making his next start on May 9 against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Though he was pitching well in his sixth start of the season, carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning, he was scowling the entire outing.
On May 10, the Mets announced another MRI on his right side showed no inflammation and came back clean. But that same day, they put him on the IL to give him some rest and try to figure out what was causing the discomfort.
Rojas won’t commit to deGrom returning to the rotation after his rehab start. But it appears likely that, if all goes well on Thursday, he’ll be on track to start on May 25 against the Rockies at Citi Field.
