After year away, deGrom set to return to mound
MIAMI – The wait is finally over. Jacob deGrom is set to return to the mound for the New York Mets on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals after more than a year away from the major league mound. He has been sidelined for nearly four months this season as he works back from a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade.
“It’s been a long time. This has been a pretty slow process of coming back,” deGrom said. “I’m excited to be out there. The nerves haven’t really set in yet. I’m sure Tuesday I’ll be pretty nervous. I have a feeling it’s going to feel like my debut.”
The two-time Cy Young winner has not pitched in a regular-season game since July 7, 2021, after forearm tightness evolved into an ulnar collateral ligament sprain that kept him out for the remainder of the season.
DeGrom believes that the stress reaction came as a result of the quick ramp-up for the regular season on the heels of the lockout, but he’s confident he can stay healthy after the recovery process. He pitched five innings across two outings in the spring.
“Going into the spring with the lockout and the unknown, maybe I didn’t have enough time to build up. You look at a stress reaction and what that injury kind of is, it’s ramping up too quick. The amount of time it took for me to get back to here, I feel like I’m in a good position to stay healthy.
Long road back
The Mets were cautious in bringing deGrom back after the initial diagnosis on April 1. The original course of action was to keep from throwing for a minimum of four weeks. DeGrom began loading and strengthening his shoulder on April 25 and began throwing on May 10.
DeGrom threw live batting practice in Florida in late June before making his first rehab start for St. Lucie on July 4. There was some concern after one of his simulated games in midJuly was pushed back due to shoulder soreness, but that signaled more cautiousness on the part of the Mets.
In deGrom’s latest rehab start on July 27 for Class AAA Syracuse, deGrom threw 67 pitches across four innings to set up his major league return.
“Throughout the rehab process, I felt good,” deGrom said. “I had a couple little minor things where we took an extra day. That was just making sure everything was where it needed to be. I’m confident. Everything’s healed and I felt good throughout the whole process.”
DeGrom said he expects that number of pitches will creep about between 10 and 15 pitches. The team entertained throwing him one more inning in his latest start, but he was dealing with calf cramping.
Buck Showalter has tried not to hamper deGrom with too many questions in his return, but he’s excited for him to get back after what he has gone through.
“Not curiosity, just hope he has a good healthy outing and gives us a chance to win,” Showalter said. “I think we all know what he’s capable of. I got to see it a little bit in the spring.”
New approach
DeGrom had a lot of time to assess what he feels may have been leading to more stress on his arm.
He said he is seeking a return to the same mechanics that helped him win back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2018 and 2019, with a combined 524 strikeouts across 421 innings with a 2.05 ERA.
“I took a lot of time to look at those videos and kind of try to get back there,” deGrom said. “I noticed (lately) I was a little more upright and leaning a little more toward first base on my followthrough than those years.”
In addition to the stress reaction and UCL sprain, deGrom’s injury report over the last three seasons reads like a laundry list. He has also dealt with lat inflammation, side tightness, a hamstring spasm and back tightness since 2020.
But he said the mentality will be the same as it always has when he toes the rubber on Tuesday.
“You go out there and you just leave it all out on the field,” deGrom said. “You play the game how you’ve always played it and you do your best to do everything you can to stay healthy and leave it all out there to try to help the team win.”
The biggest thing deGrom has missed is competing. On Tuesday, he will get that chance for the team with the best record in the National League East. He said he still intends to opt out of his contract at the end of this season.
“You want to be out there playing,” deGrom said. “Every day you’re able to put this uniform, I’m thankful for. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get out there and compete. I’m ready. It’s exciting. I’m ready to help these guys.”