Mets' Jacob deGrom avoids injured list for now after MRI comes back clean

NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom, who has left his last two starts with minor injuries, will avoid the injured list for now. But there is no guarantee he won’t end up being shut down. Really, there are more questions than answers a day after the Mets ace felt soreness in his right shoulder during his 11th outing of the year.

DeGrom went to the Hospital for Special Surgery on Thursday morning for an MRI, which showed “a normal shoulder for a pitcher,” according to manager Luis Rojas. The clean MRI was an encouraging sign for deGrom, the Mets and their medical staff. So he was permitted to play light catch on Thursday at Citi Field, another activity Rojas described as encouraging. DeGrom will go through his usual routine in between starts.

Despite the good news on deGrom’s MRI and his subsequent return to the field, the Mets will continue being cautious with their two-time Cy Young award winner in part because the team and the pitcher do not know the source of his injuries. Several times Rojas reminded reporters that deGrom is considered day-to-day, and the team is not committing to him making his next start.

“He played catch and we’ll see what tomorrow brings for him,” Rojas said. “He’s doing his in-between-starts routine. But the uncertainty of when he gets the ball again, when he starts, it’s real.

“We don’t know when he’s going to make his next start.”

When asked if hitting is the reason for deGrom’s injuries, Rojas said: “It could be.” When asked if his high velocity 100-plus-mph pitches at age-33 are adversely impacting deGrom’s body, Rojas said: “It could be.” The Mets don’t know why deGrom has felt 3-4 different discomforts in the past six weeks. Rojas said he might tell deGrom not to swing next time, even though he’s hitting .423, out of caution.

“There’s different things that you can think where this might happen,” Rojas said. “It could be during his at-bat. It could be maybe one pitch that he felt something. It could be anywhere.”

The Mets won’t put deGrom on the IL, for now, for a few reasons. One, the MRI showed “a normal shoulder for a pitcher,” which likely displayed more inflammation than say, a Mets fan watching games from the couch every night, but nothing out of the ordinary to cause concern. Two, the team believes deGrom’s recent ailments (right lat, lower back, flexor tendonitis and shoulder issues) are not connected. Three, deGrom’s performance has not suffered due to the random afflictions.

On Wednesday night against the Cubs, deGrom pitched three perfect innings with eight strikeouts before he left his abbreviated start. He only started feeling the shoulder soreness in the third inning, pitched through it, and struck out the side. His 0.54 ERA is the best in MLB, by a long shot.

All of these reasons led to Rojas telling reporters on Thursday that his concern level for deGrom’s newest injury is low. “Everything is just normal,” the manager said of deGrom’s shoulder.

While the Mets’ approach to deGrom’s burst of minor injuries has been patient and calm, the same cannot be said for the ace himself. He was agitated and confused on Wednesday about departing early from his second straight start with an issue. “This is getting old,” deGrom said flatly, hours after his outing was cut short.

DeGrom’s long-time teammate Brandon Nimmo said this is the most frustrated he’s seen the pitcher.

“He’s been such a workhorse for us the last few years so this is really tough on him to not be able to pitch his 7-9 innings every time,” Nimmo said. “I just want to try and encourage him to not get too frustrated with it. … He knows he’s the best in the game if he goes out there and is healthy and is able to pitch. It’s a very frustrating thing to know that’s all that’s keeping you from doing your job well.”

DeGrom, a fierce competitor being an understatement, is less open to going on the IL this time than he was last month, per Rojas. In May, deGrom was shelved for two weeks with right lat/side tightness even though his MRI showed no inflammation. Then, deGrom said his mechanics had changed because he was compensating for the lat issue. So he went on the IL, threw bullpen sessions, and made a rehab start to correct his mechanics.

This time is different. For now, the Mets do not believe deGrom’s mechanics have changed, though they will continue looking at video to confirm that theory. DeGrom wants to go through his usual routine in the coming days and return to the mound as quick as possible. DeGrom is part of the Mets’ decision to avoid the IL, “but that doesn’t mean he’s overruling the medical experts,” Rojas said.

“He feels right now that this is something he doesn’t need to go on the IL,” Rojas said. “He wants to go day by day and take the same approach that we want to take.”