DeGrom’s baby makes ‘huge’progress

CLEVELAND — Jacob deGrom is hoping he and his wife can bring their newborn son home as soon as Monday, Terry Collins said.

DeGrom’s son has been hospitalized since his birth on Monday.

Collins called news of the baby’s improving health “a huge step for him. Huge.”

DeGrom, who injured his lat muscle in his one and only start this season, was placed on baseball’s family medical emergency list Saturday and the team announced it was because of complications after the birth of Jaxon Anthony on Monday night. DeGrom has been in Florida with his wife Stacey and their family since then.

But Saturday night, deGrom reported some progress.

“I talked to him and the baby is doing better, so that was a good sign,” Collins said Sunday morning.

“I told Jake he needs to gets some rest and mix in a meal.”

It has been a stressful time for the young family and Saturday night’s update seemed to bring a sense of relief all around.

“For those two it was tremendous news,” Collins said of deGrom and his wife.

The Mets made the move Saturday to allow them to replace deGrom on the roster. They had been playing with 24 men.

It also gives deGrom three to seven days to spend with his family.

Collins would not say if this meant deGrom would rejoin the team sooner or later.

The Mets have lined up Logan Verrett to make his second straight start in deGrom’s spot, Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Sunday, however, deGrom threw a 40-pitch bullpen session at the Mets’ spring training complex and Collins said that the right-hander would pitch a simulated game Tuesday in Port St. Lucie.

Initially, the Mets used the lat injury to give the deGroms some

privacy while dealing with their son’s medical issues.

In the Mets’ home opener against the Phillies, the righthander departed after six innings and 76 pitches with “tightness” in his right lat muscle and was scratched from his second start.

Collins confirmed that the lat injury was no longer a concern, but he could tell that deGrom was exhausted from dealing with the stress of a sick child.

“I am sure he is,” Collins said, “Probably more mentally than maybe physically.”

With the improvements in his son’s health, however, now deGrom and the Mets can rest a little easier.