New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom keeps working his way back from a stress reaction on his right scapula, and some muscle weakness around the area from last week.
The star pitcher had been toying with minor league hitters for much of his rehab assignment, but he finally found some adversity on Wednesday afternoon.
Pitching for Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate, he gave up a huge three-run home run in the second inning.
He had already given up a dinger before that, so he conceded four runs in total.
“Drew Waters dinger off Jacob deGrom! The @Royals‘ No. 8 prospect has reached base in all 11 games for the @OMAStormChasers since being traded to KC,” MLB Pipeline tweeted.
Drew Waters dinger off Jacob deGrom!
The @Royals' No. 8 prospect has reached base in all 11 games for the @OMAStormChasers since being traded to KC. pic.twitter.com/12DNW5F9il
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 27, 2022
In typical deGrom fashion, he bounced back nicely and limited the damage over the rest of the outing.
He settled in over the final two innings and finished with six strikeouts to his name.
He Could Return As Soon As Next Week
He ended up conceding four earned runs across four innings in his fourth minor league rehab start.
In total, he threw 67 pitches, and should be ready for at least 80 in his next outing.
Where that outing is going to come remains a mystery.
He could potentially be cleared to make his 2022 season debut early next week, but it’s not a given.
A much more plausible date would be August 2: he is lined up to pitch that day, and would do it against a depleted Washington Nationals lineup.
It would be a fine tune-up start before being ready to take on much harder opponents.
In any case, deGrom is very, very close to rejoining the Mets, and that qualifies as great news in Queens.
NEXT: Edwin Diaz Is On Pace To Make MLB Strikeout History