PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets didn’t escape spring training without a scare from Jacob deGrom.
A week before the start of the season in Washington, questions have suddenly been raised as to whether their ace will be ready for opening day after deGrom reported a strain in the rear right shoulder during Thursday’s long toss.
Buck Showalter didn’t want to sound the alarm and didn’t say definitively that deGrom would be dropped from his scheduled start against the Cardinals on Friday. But the Mets exec said deGrom would have to be pretty convincing to convince the team he’s okay for the star to take the mound for what is said to be his final spring tuneup.
The plan for now is to see how deGrom is feeling on Friday morning. If the pain persists, Showalter suggested they would likely send deGrom for an MRI scan.
“Let’s see what [Friday] brings,” Showalter said, adding that the Mets baked in an extra day for each preseason starter for a scenario like this where deGrom could throw Saturday instead.
Jacob de Grom, Corey Sipkin
Meeting with reporters Thursday after the Mets’ 7-3 loss to the Nationals at Clover Park, Showalter mentioned the possibility of rain in the prediction as a possible reason for deGrom not to attend Friday’s Grapefruit League game. He returned to reporters about 20 minutes later to reveal that he and deGrom had discussed discomfort in his office earlier in the day and the concerns were bigger than the weather.
“I would be surprised if he served [Friday]Rain or no rain,” said Showalter, whose camp had been quiet up until this development.
The Mets’ championship hopes rest on their unbeatable top of the rotation from deGrom and Max Scherzer, but injuries are always the problem and they may already have happened.
DeGrom has appeared in two Grapefruit League games and was characteristically dominant, allowing one run in five innings while hitting 10 and perhaps being uncharacteristically restrained.
After deGrom — baseball’s most dominant pitcher — failed to start after July 7 last year because of a slight tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, he said he focused this spring on being “slick” and not trying to mess with it throw with maximum effort.
During Monday’s tag teaming with Scherzer, deGrom’s four-seam fastball averaged 97.2 mph, still often untouchable but a few ticks below his average last season.
The focus has been on a secure build-up, especially critical because of the shortened spring training that can tax pitchers whose bodies are used to a particular routine.
In a normal spring, the Mets could rest deGrom — even if he’s perfectly fine for the coming days — and still feel comfortable that they could have him ready for the start of the season. This isn’t a normal spring, and if deGrom takes a few days off, maybe Scherzer will get the ball against the Nationals.
“If you shorten spring, that buffer or safety net isn’t going to be there,” Showalter said in December. “That’s going to be hard”