All-Star pitcher Jacob deGrom might not suit up for the New York Mets again in the 2021 MLB season. According to Mets president Sandy Alderson, while deGrom recovered from an injury that kept him sidelined for the past two months, it’s uncertain whether he’ll return to pitching before the regular part of the campaign concludes.
He was shut down by the Mets due to an elbow sprain back in early July. Since then, the team remained tight-lipped about his condition, saying only that there is no structural damage involved.
In his chat with reporters on Tuesday, however, Alderson revealed that deGrom indeed had a partial UCL tear. According to him, the tear “resolved itself,” and the 33-year-old ace won’t need a procedure to resolve the issue.
Alderson explained that deGrom is currently getting his workload increased, but there are no guarantees that he will progress enough to resume playing in 2021.
“In terms of him pitching the rest of the season, I think that is still very much up in the air,” Alderson added.
Before going down with the injury, Jacob deGrom was in the midst of a stellar season that saw him post a 7-2 record as a starter with 1.08 ERA and 145 strikeouts. His 50 strikeouts in the first four starts in a season were a new MLB record.
Without deGrom on the mound, the Mets experienced a series of ups and downs that currently has them out of the postseason picture. They are currently own a 70-69 record that puts them four games behind the Atlanta Braves in NL East. In the wild-card hunt, Mets trail five games behind the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds.
