The New York Mets braced for another Jacob deGrom health scare after his latest start, but the news Thursday was more positive.
A day after the right-hander had an early exit following right shoulder tightness, Mets manager Luis Rojas said deGrom should be able to avoid the injured list after his MRI came back clean. Rojas described deGrom as day-to-day.
“(The MRI) just showed a normal shoulder that a pitcher would have and there’s no concern,” Rojas told reporters before Thursday’s game against the visiting Chicago Cubs.
While deGrom is putting up some unbelievable stats in 2021, Wednesday marked the second straight start and third this season that deGrom left an outing with an injury concern. Last Friday against the San Diego Padres, deGrom cited elbow soreness after six innings, and on May 9 against the Arizona Diamondbacks he left with right side tightness after five frames.
deGrom, 32, was dealing early Wednesday against the Cubs, striking out eight of the nine batters he faced — including his last seven in a row — to finish with three perfect innings.
For the season, deGrom owns a 6-2 record with an 0.54 ERA. He has struck out 111 batters for a rate of 14.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Rojas told reporters that the club doesn’t know why deGrom’s injuries are happening, and it hasn’t ruled out that they’re derived from his trips to the plate. deGrom knocked in a run in his only at-bat Wednesday; he has totaled more RBIs (six) than earned runs (four) for the season.