UPDATE: The MRI revealed a stress reaction in Jacob deGrom’s right scapula, which is not good. That takes a while to calm down, so to speak.
New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will miss Opening Day after imaging showed a stress reaction in his right scapula, sources tell ESPN. While the timetable for deGrom's return is unclear, he's expected to miss a significant amount of time to start 2022. Story soon at ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022
UPDATE: Jacob deGrom has suffered a stress reaction in his right scapula. He's going to miss Opening Day and will be shut down completely for four weeks, after which point the Mets will reevaluate.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 1, 2022
Original post follows.
When he was able to pitch last year, Jacob deGrom was as good as it gets. I mean that literally. I can’t imagine a pitcher realistically pitching any better than 2021 Jacob deGrom pitched.
When he was able to pitch. Which wasn’t often enough.
And it’s starting again already, just one week before Opening day:
Jacob deGrom felt some tightness in the back of his right shoulder today while playing catch. Mets haven't officially scratched him for tomorrow, but that seems likely.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) April 1, 2022
Jacob deGrom probably will get an MRI on his right shoulder tomorrow if he does not pitch, Showalter said. https://t.co/ChnDhwCmSe
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) April 1, 2022
It wasn’t specifically the shoulder last year, but it feels like this is how it went all season: deGrom would wow for a bit, feel something, shut it down for a little bit, come back and wow some more, feel something, and on it went (including, reportedly, a partially-torn UCL?). It sucked as a baseball fan, because we were getting a chance to see a truly special season … and it just kept getting derailed. Ultimately, deGrom managed just 92.0 innings over 15 starts (of course, he was still worth 4.9(!) WAR in that time).
Hopefully this will prove to be nothing, but even the mention that he might get an MRI sure makes you nervous if you’re a Mets fan or a baseball fan who doesn’t want to see a 33-year-old superstar arm hit the decline phase too quickly. Importantly, deGrom can opt out of his current deal with the Mets after the season, and has already said he intends to do that. Who knows what happens if he has another year of health-related stops and starts.
As for the nearer-term implications, there are few more impactful individual players in the National League, so any absence for deGrom would be quite notable.
* * *
The early word from Jon Heyman is that the MRI is indeed happening, which – if new information – would mean deGrom didn’t wake up feeling all better:
Jake deGrom goes for an MRI today on his right shoulder. Opening Day start is undetermined.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 1, 2022