New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom won’t throw for approximately four weeks after an MRI exam detected a stress reaction on his right scapula, the team announced Friday.
The Mets scratched deGrom from his scheduled Friday start due to shoulder tightness, which led to the MRI and the discovery of the injury to the shoulder blade. The team said deGrom has been bothered by inflammation in the area.
The club said deGrom will have further imaging done after the four-week period.
Mets manager Buck Showalter said right-hander Max Scherzer might replace deGrom as the Opening Day starter. The Mets visit the Washington Nationals — one of Scherzer’s former teams — on April 7 to start the season.
The 33-year-old deGrom made two spring-training starts and struck out 10 in five innings. He gave up one run and five hits.
It represents another health blow for deGrom, who didn’t pitch after July 7 of last season due to elbow issues.
In 15 starts last season, deGrom went 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA, and he struck out 146 batters in 92 innings.
The four-time All-Star won the National League Cy Young Award in both 2018 and 2019. He is 77-53 with a 2.50 ERA in 198 career starts with the Mets in eight seasons.
–Field Level Media