On second thought, the Mets will place deGrom on disabled list
You can’t blame the Mets for being overly cautious with one of their pitchers anymore these days. With the Matt Harvey saga coming to an ugly end in New York, the club has decided not to press its luck with starter Jacob deGrom and will place the 29-year-old on the disabled list retroactive to May 3.
In the grand scheme of things, this is unquestionably the safe move. It hasn’t even been a week since deGrom hyperextended his right elbow during an at-bat in a 7-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves, and while an MRI revealed no structural damage to his throwing arm, sending him right back out on normal rest isn’t a necessary move so early in the season.
Originally the Mets gave the all clear and were operating as though deGrom would be ready for Monday’s matchup with Cincinnati. That proved a bit too ambitious. Despite throwing a bullpen session with no issues, New York placed one of the league’s best arms on the bench until May 13.
Jacob deGrom has been placed on the 10-Day DL, retroactive to May 3, and we’ve selected the contract of P.J. Conlon from the @LasVegas51s. @pjconlon29 will make his major league debut when he starts tomorrow night in Cincinnati. #Mets
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2018
Again, this seems to be more about preservation than any specific setback. Given where the Mets are these days, dialing things back certainly couldn’t hurt.
After racing out to an MLB-leading 12-2 start, New York has regressed a considerable amount, falling to 17-14 and third place in the National League East behind Atlanta and Philadelphia. If there was any time for a quick reset, this would be it.
The downside here is obvious: whatever woes have plagued the Mets, none have been the fault of deGrom. Noah Syndergaard may still be the team’s ace, but there’s no question who New York’s most dominant pitcher has been through seven starts. In 43.1 innings pitched, deGrom has surrendered just 10 runs total (nine earned), struck out 54 and walked 11. His WHIP is down to 0.99 with an ERA of 1.87. That he’s given up only two home runs is just an added bonus.
It’s been a weird few weeks over at Citi Field between the sudden drop in the standings and the continued downfall of Harvey. Assuming bad things happen in threes, deGrom’s short trip to the DL should be the end of this string of bad luck.
Then again, you never know what twists and turns the Mets have in store for their fans.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
