Mets’ deGrom out until Sept. due to inflammation

07/31/2021

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The New York Mets said Friday that Jacob deGrom will be out until September due to additional inflammation in his right forearm.

The ace right-hander is 7-2 in 15 starts with a 1.08 ERA, but last pitched July 7 when he struck out 10 in seven innings against the Brewers. He will be shut down from throwing for two weeks, pushing the timetable for his return back to September.

Manager Luis Rojas didn’t offer any other update during his pregame media session, other than to say deGrom didn’t throw on Friday. DeGrom has suffered five injuries this season — shoulder soreness, right lat tightness, right side tightness, right flexor tendinitis — had two starts pushed back and had an earlier stint on the injured list in May. When he landed on the IL with forearm tightness, he said the previous four injuries had each been caused while batting.

“When I go to release a baseball, I’m having a hard time staying through it and throwing the ball how I’m supposed to,” deGrom said in mid-July when the Mets officially placed him on the IL. “The other day, I felt it from literally lobbing a baseball and then never really seemed to get any better. Just continued to stay tight even when I got on the mound. I guess the positive thing is, structurally, my elbow looks good but the frustration part is why. What is it? What did I do to cause it?”

The Mets have used 16 different starting pitchers and used their 17th on Friday night when Carlos Carrasco made his debut for the team. The Mets also wore black uniform tops, a fan favorite, for the first time in nine years.

Carrasco, part of the Francisco Lindor trade in the offseason, missed the first four months with a hamstring tear.

The Mets acquired Rich Hill in a trade last week with the Rays and added Javier Baez and Trevor Williams in a major deadline deal with the Cubs earlier Friday. Williams is 4-2 with a 5.06 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) with the Cubs, and has been hit hard, allowing 10 home runs and a .833 OPS in 58.2 innings.

Without deGrom, the rotation lines up as Marcus Stroman, Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Hill and Tylor Megill, with Williams likely heading to the bullpen for now. Megill has pitched well with a 2.04 ERA in seven starts while Walker has struggled of late, with 17 runs allowed in 9.1 innings over his past three starts.

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