No worries as Jake jets home early
CINCINNATI – Jacob deGrom went back to New York a day earlier than the rest of his teammates, but the Mets are saying not to panic. DeGrom, on the injured list with tightness in his right forearm, left Cincinnati on Tuesday and traveled to New York to “continue his treatment,” per manager Luis Rojas. Though the ace is still shut down from throwing until that tightness – or inflammation, as acting GM Zack Scott referred to it on Big Time Baseball – disappears, the team is less concerned about his latest injury than it was a few days ago.
“He is improving,” Rojas said on Tuesday. “Right now, he’s not throwing today. We’ll reassess about the throwing part maybe tomorrow. But he’s improving. The tightness has diminished. The range of motion is a little better.”
Since the 33-year-old was not scheduled to throw or ramp up during the Mets’ three-game series against the Reds, the club and medical staff saw no point in deGrom remaining at Cincinnati.
“There’s nothing he was going to do here,” Rojas said. “We don’t think he was going to throw with the tightness that he had. So we’d rather send him there so he can get his work there and focus on that rather than trying to be diligent and get into pitching. He’s focusing on getting that better and we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
Scott downplayed the severity of deGrom’s fifth injury of the season on his podcast appearance with MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on Tuesday. The Mets’ acting GM said he is “not too concerned” and he expects deGrom to return to the mound “pretty quick.” But the club does not yet know when he can start throwing again. Scott, though, compared the forearm tightness to the previous four injuries deGrom sustained this season, in that it is minor and should not require a long IL stint.
The earliest deGrom can return to the active roster is Sunday.
TRUST IN DIAZ
Hours after Edwin Diaz’s third consecutive blown save, Rojas and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner made it a point to speak with the closer on Tuesday morning at Cincinnati. Rojas and Hefner voiced their trust in Diaz and told him “the stuff is there,” despite his tough stretch of poor outings.
Diaz is the Mets closer. There has been no other thought process within the club to suggest otherwise.
“They trust in me 100 percent,” Diaz said on Tuesday from the Great American Ball Park.
Diaz is working with Hefner on controlling his command, throwing strikes and improving his location. Without his fastballs sailing into the strike zone, Diaz is not getting his usual swings and misses. He’s walked six batters in six relief appearances this month and hit two batters in that stretch. But the Mets view all of these issues as mechanical, and fixable.
Despite the calm way the Mets are approaching Diaz’s latest miscues, fans were reminded of his nightmare of a debut season with the Mets in 2019. Rojas believes Diaz’s current confidence is nowhere near where his mindset was two years ago. Though the skipper did admit Diaz lost his confidence in 2019 and even at times in 2020, when the Mets briefly took him out of his ninth-inning role, he has seen a new and improved Diaz this year.
“I think he’s at a different level,” Rojas said. “2019 was a great experience for him. First year out of Seattle and here in New York. He lived that and I think it made him better. I think right now he’s better facing struggles, adversity and failure. He does not get mental about it.”
JOSE IT AIN’T SO
Jose Peraza was placed on the 10day IL on Tuesday with a broken right middle finger, the Mets announced moments before first pitch on Tuesday. Clarity on how Peraza broke his finger was not immediately provided. The injury is a huge blow for Peraza, who was a key addition to the Mets’ bench, and it could potentially end his season. The Mets recalled right-hander Geoff Hartlieb from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.
Peraza filled in admirably at second base when Jeff McNeil was sidelined for a month with a torn hamstring. The 27-year-old helped keep the Mets, and the Bench Mob, afloat by playing at second and third and pinch-hitting. He slashed .205/.263/.402 with 19 RBI and seven home runs in 52 games this season. It is unclear how the Mets will immediately fill his spot as bench depth, but infielder Brandon Drury could be a potential callup from Triple-A Syracuse.