NEWSLETTER
Remember how New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom, aka the best pitcher in the world, kept having seemingly minor arm issues earlier this year – even as he was dominating – but then the Mets kept being sent right back out there after minimal time off? And then finally the team relented and he was shut down for a while?
Well it turns out it was a FREAKING PARTIALLY TORN UCL:
Sandy Alderson said Jacob deGrom’s elbow injury was a sprain/partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow.
But, Alderson emphasized, deGrom is fine now.
“The ligament is perfectly intact at this point,” he said. “Whatever condition existed before, it’s resolved itself.”
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 7, 2021
Sandy Alderson on Jacob deGrom’s right UCL sprain: “It’s a very low-grade thing that has resolved itself.” Alderson said, at this moment, deGrom’s UCL is “perfectly intact.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) September 7, 2021
I mean, first of all, good that the UCL – that’s the key ligament in the elbow – healed over the last couple months? But second of all, it feels like the Mets said there were no structural issues for a long, long time (as recently as late July). So either they didn’t know he had a partial tear in his UCL (YIKES!) or they were just being untruthful.
In any case, it sucks that the guy was pitching through this kind of crap, and maybe there was nothing anyone could do at the time. It’s not like you’d necessarily want to put him under the knife for a partial tear that could heal on its own (and it … has?). There’s still no timetable for his return, and maybe it’s best if the 33-year-old doesn’t try to push it this year at this point? Then again, the Mets are just 4.0 games back in the NL East (4.5 back of the second Wild Card), so I could understand some urgency. I don’t really have a dog in the fight, other than being a fan who doesn’t want to see deGrom lose a year to a full tear or something.
Also, for what it’s worth: deGrom has an opt-out in his contract after next season, so I would imagine the last thing he wants is to lose the 2022 season either.
UPDATE: I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think this is quite an apt comparison between a bruise in a muscle and damage to a ligament structure:
More Alderson: "Somebody goes out with a headline that it’s a partial tear, that’s what a bruise is. A bruise is a partial tear of the muscle, OK? So let’s not go out there and write as if this is anything new. It’s not. It’s a very low-grade thing that has resolved itself." https://t.co/0eXyk9J9FO
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 7, 2021
