New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom has been scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday afternoon, with a mysterious injury the team only described as “right-side tightness,” according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. While details of the injury are still scant, the initial word is that the ailment is not serious and should only prevent the Cy-Young frontrunner from missing a single start.
Then again, with the Mets' luck, is anyone really confident that will be the case?
Jacob deGrom won’t make his scheduled start tonight, per source. Unclear whether this is an issue that’s likely to linger. Mets will be addressing it later.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 4, 2021
Despite only boasting a 2-2 record on the young season, the All-Star hurler has accrued a microscopic .51 ERA with 59 strikeouts in only 35 innings pitched. As if that weren't enough, deGrom has been a force in the batter's box, hitting .462 (!!) and leading all players in Major League Baseball with 2.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs' metrics. With the Mets offense routinely struggling in his appearances–and with the team generally a mess when he isn't starting–deGrom often finds himself carrying the squad every fifth day, at one point striking out at least 14 batters through three consecutive starts.
While the team revealed that they did not believe the injury to be long-term, the pitcher will undergo an MRI Tuesday afternoon, with the results expected to be returned by the medical staff later this evening. In his stead, New York will dispatch Miguel Castro to the pitcher's mound, marking the first start of the season for the 26-year old pitcher, who has earned a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings pitched out of the bullpen thus far.
Though Castro represents a deep dropoff from deGrom, on the bright side, the Mets offense is almost certain to score more than one run now that they are no longer tasked with preventing their own pitcher from getting a win.
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