NEW YORK — The best pitcher in baseball will not take the mound at this year's All-Star Game.
Mets ace Jacob deGrom confirmed that he doesn't plan to play at the Midsummer Classic next week in Colorado.
DeGrom leads the league with a 1.08 ERA after yielding two runs in seven innings on Wednesday. The Mets may use him as an opener on short rest Sunday against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates.
"Being named to an All-Star team is a great honor but I'm going to take that time and just enjoy it with my family, whether I pitch Sunday or not," deGrom said after the Mets' 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
"Hopefully (Taijuan Walker) gets in there and takes my place."
DeGrom was scheduled to start Tuesday of this week and then again Sunday, giving him a reason to miss the festivities at Coors Field. However, the weather foiled that plan — his turn in the rotation was pushed back a day due to a rainout Tuesday night.
For now, his priority is leading the first-place Mets on a deep postseason run.
"He could use (Sunday) as his side work and give us a couple of innings and play it like a bullpen day," manager Luis Rojas said.
DeGrom would have been an obvious choice to start the All-Star Game after striking out 146 batters in 92 innings.
However, deGrom has dealt with a litany of health issues this season, including shoulder soreness and right flexor tendinitis. He went on the IL in May due to tightness in his right side.
Besides, the 33-year-old has already made three trips to the All-Star Game, most recently in 2019.
"He doesn't want to expose anything in a game that doesn't mean anything for the Mets," Rojas said. "He has respect for the event and wants to be a part of it. But with everything that's happened this season, his mindset is that if he's going to pitch, he's going to pitch here."
The Mets don't have a starter lined up for Sunday right now, so deGrom could fill a hole. Rojas pointed out that deGrom would go about 10 days without an appearance if he wasn't used in the weekend series against the Pirates.
"We'll see how it goes (Wednesday) and how he responds over the next couple of days," Rojas said. "But let's see what happens and what the decision is for Sunday."
