The New York Mets have received several pieces of bad news regarding the health of their ace, Jacob deGrom, ever since July 2021.
His latest update, however, does not qualify as bad news, even if it does seem like it.
“Mets roster move: they claimed lefty Locke St. John off waivers from the Cubs. He’s a former first-round pick. To clear 40-man space, the Mets transferred Jacob deGrom to the 60-day IL, which doesn’t really affect his timeline,” Anthony DiComo, who covers the Mets for MLB.com, tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Mets roster move: they claimed lefty Locke St. John off waivers from the Cubs. He's a former first-round pick.
To clear 40-man space, the Mets transferred Jacob deGrom to the 60-day IL, which doesn't really affect his timeline.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 10, 2022
deGrom was already on the injured list, as he was placed there on April 7 with a stress reaction on his right scapula.
Essentially, the Mets needed a roster spot for their new waiver claim and moving deGrom to the 60-day injured list was the way to clear it.
The Move To The 60-Day IL Doesn’t Affect deGrom’s Timeline
As DiComo says, it doesn’t really affect his timeline because deGrom, who is currently strengthening his shoulder, won’t return before the end of May.
He would be eligible to return around June 7, but he won’t be ready by then.
deGrom would need to be cleared to throw to start thinking about his path towards returning to MLB action.
That still hasn’t happened, and once it happens, it should be about a month until he is ready to go up to an MLB mound and retire major league hitters.
It’s possible we don’t see him at all in June, and his timeline is moving closer to the All-Star break now.
The 33-year-old ace has stated he intends to clean up his mechanics to reduce the chances of another shoulder in the future.
The Mets have been doing fine without him, but make no mistake: he is the best pitcher in baseball, and there will always be space for someone like him in every MLB staff.
NEXT: Mets Set An Elite Mark Early In The 2022 Season