Camila Sosa
The New York Mets have just received probably the worst news possible just days before the start of the 2022 MLB season: their ace and favorite to win the National League Cy Young, Jacob deGrom, will miss Opening Day after undergoing an MRI today, which revealed a fracture of his right scapula that will keep him out indefinitely, according to the latest reports from the pitcher’s camp.
How Long Will Jacob deGrom be out?
The organization announced through its social networks that the 33-year-old veteran will spend exactly one month without any kind of sports activity and will be re-evaluated after that period. However, that does not imply that he will be back after those four weeks of recovery. At best, deGrom will be able to make his return to the mound by June if the second evaluation of his fracture comes back with good results, but it could be even more than just two months of inactivity.
On a more positive note, deGrom only suffered from the fracture without compromising other areas of his shoulder such as muscles, ligaments or tendons. Likewise, since he occupies part of his pitching arm, recovery will have to be as cautious as possible to avoid any type of discomfort in the rehabilitation process that could further delay his return to the Mets. The two-time Cy Young winner pitched for the last time in a major league game on July 7, 2021, before being limited for the remainder of the season with forearm discomfort.
It has been very bad luck for deGrom physically and for the Mets, who brought in one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in Max Scherzer, just to get the best starting duo in the majors. Fans of the Queens-based organization will have to wait a long time to see them both in action this season.
Had it not been for injuries, the right-hander would have surely won his third best pitcher award of the season for having such absurd numbers as a 1.08 ERA, WHIP of 0.55, 146 strikeouts and a 1.24 FIP in 92 innings pitched during the 2021 campaign. What’s more, he appeared to be on track to repeat the same performance having accumulated just one run allowed, ten strikeouts and no walks in five innings of innings during Spring Training.
This leaves the Mets’ starting rotation with Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and newly acquired Chris Bassit to fill the first four starting spots, and among the pitchers Tylor Megill, Trevor Williams, David Peterson or a combination in the bullpen as options to fill the fifth slot within the rotation. The team led by Buck Showalter will try to overcome the mediocre record imposed in 2021 (77-85), to at least secure a spot in the postseason of the current season, or in the best case scenario, to win the National League East division.
