Mets ace deGrom gets good news after MRI on back

Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets averted a serious scare Wednesday when an MRI showed nothing to be concerned about, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no immediate announcement on deGrom’s medical condition was planned. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was sent for tests after exiting an intrasquad game early with tightness in his back.

Mets manager Luis Rojas said a frustrated deGrom left Tuesday night’s camp outing after only one inning at Citi Field. He is daytoday.

Any significant injury to deGrom would be an enormous blow to New York during a season shortened to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic. The right-hander had been scheduled to pitch in an exhibition tuneup this weekend against the Yankees and then start on Opening Day July 24 versus Atlanta.

“It’s a little bit too early still to make those decisions,” Rojas said Wednesday afternoon.

The Mets already are minus No. 2 starter Noah Syndergaard, who will miss the entire season following Tommy John surgery.

Last year, deGrom won his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award after going 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA in 204 innings pitched. He led the National League with 255 strikeouts.

Preseason back stiffness has bothered deGrom in the past, bumping his initial start from opening day to the second game of the year in 2018. But it hasn’t sidelined him for long.

Rojas said he thought deGrom touched 100 mph with his fastball Tuesday night and the team didn’t notice anything wrong until he mentioned the back trouble.. JUDGE BACK IN YANKEES LINEUP, TANAKA SET FOR

BULLPEN SESSION >> Right fielder Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees’ intrasquad lineup after missing five days due to a stiff neck.

“Had a good day of work yesterday,” manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday’s session.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled for a bullpen session today, his first action since he was struck on the head by a liner off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton on July 4. SLUGGER SANO CLEARED TO

REJOIN TWINS >> Minnesota Twins power hitter Miguel Sano, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early

July, was cleared to rejoin the team. MLB requires all players who tested positive to later test negative twice in a 24-hour period before they can rejoin their club on the field.

Sano, 27, played 91 games at third base for the Twins last season but is expected to move to first base with the arrival of Josh Donaldson. In 105 games overall last season, he totaled career bests of 34 home runs and 79 RBIs.