Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s bout with right forearm tightness will land him on the 10-day injured list, manager Luis Rojas announced on Sunday.
Rojas labeled deGrom day to day on Saturday, and the right-hander had been shut down from throwing. But when the tightness didn’t go away on Sunday morning, the team made the move, which is retroactive to Thursday.
deGrom underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed no structural damage. Rojas said deGrom experienced similar tightness in a bullpen session before the All-Star break, and it flared up again during a side session the ace tried to throw during the break.
“He played catch at home and intended to throw a side there, too,” Rojas said Saturday. “He felt the tightness again and he just stopped throwing. He felt that a couple days off and coming here and trying to [throw a] side Friday, [it] was going to be away because it’s a similar feel that he has in between starts sometimes with forearm tightness, but it goes away. This time it hasn’t gone away and that’s why right now he’s just getting treatment.”
The forearm tightness marks the latest in a series of injuries that have impeded deGrom throughout what has otherwise been a historically dominant start to the season. He missed two weeks with right side tightness in May, then exited his June 11 start with right flexor tendinitis, only to make his next start five days later, which he was forced to depart after three perfect innings with a sore right shoulder. He made his final four starts of the first half without further incident, though he opted to skip Tuesday’s All-Star Game in light of those injury problems.
Despite all that, he finished the first half with a 1.08 ERA and a realistic chance to best Bob Gibson’s 1968 1.12 ERA, the lowest qualified mark in the AL or the NL in the Live Ball Era.
Rojas said in his conversation with deGrom that it appears the previous injuries aren’t related to the forearm tightness that has sidelined him to start the second half of the season.
“I talked to him and I asked him if there was a correlation, and he said no,” Rojas said. “He said that this is different tightness. We’ll find out more. I think we’ll find out more about it. They’re going to do some more treatment and I don’t know if they’re going to do more tests after an MRI, but we should find out more about it, to see what it is and if it goes away.”
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].