deGrom To Be Evaluated for “Tightness” in Shoulder

Last season Jacob deGrom was on his way to a third straight Cy Young Award until a nagging, mysterious elbow injured sidelined deGrom for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Now, with the Mets exactly one week away from the start of the 2022 season, there is concern over "tightness" in deGrom's shoulder, and the right-hander will be reevaluated according to manager Buck Showalter.

"We are going to see how he is in the morning before we scratch him," Showalter told reporters. "But he has to be pretty convincing to pitch him tomorrow. I'll be surprised if he pitches tomorrow -- rain or no rain."

deGrom is expected to get an MRI on Friday.

The injury is a huge concern for the Mets and Mets fans for obvious reasons. deGrom reported healthy when Spring Training began a few weeks ago, and has only made two starts all spring. In those two starts, deGrom has gone five innings, allowing only one run on five hits, with no walks and 10 strikeouts. The last time he was on the mound was last Saturday against St. Louis where he pitched the first three innings of that contest before giving way to Max Scherzer.

If deGrom's shoulder injury is a concern after the reevaluation, and he has to miss his final spring start, it could put his trajectory for opening day at risk. That would mean Scherzer, who was expected to pitch April 8, would pitch next Thursday instead.

The Mets come into the season with what many consider to be the best starting rotation in the sport, headlined by deGrom and Scherzer. Chris Bassit, whom the Mets acquired from Oakland after the lockout was an All Star in Oakland last year; Tijuan Walker was a Mets All Star last year, and Carlos Carrasco was a really good pitcher before injuries hampered him the past couple of years.