ATLANTA — The final time the Mets had been in Atlanta, they’d their three finest pitchers lined as much as try to maintain off the surging Braves for an opportunity to win the NL East. One by one, all of them fell to the group that ultimately received the division. It was Jacob deGrom’s ultimate common season look for the Mets, and although he saved the group’s title hopes alive with a Wild Card win over the San Diego Padres, in the end, that was the top for the dominant, homegrown right-hander in New York.
Now, the Mets are again in Atlanta, and so they arrived simply in time to seek out out that deGrom, now a member of the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, must endure his second Tommy John surgical procedure.
“You feel awful for him,” Mets supervisor Buck Showalter stated Tuesday at Truist Park. “I know how much it means for him to pitch and he enjoys pitching. It’s certainly sad news for all of us.”
His former Mets teammates reached out immediately.
“I sent him a text and said that I hope the surgery goes well and that the recovery goes well,” stated outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “Hopefully he can get back to being the guy and the pitcher that we know he’s capable of, which is one of the best in the world.”
DeGrom had been on the injured listing since April 29 with elbow irritation. He had made six begins this season after a sluggish begin in spring coaching that led many followers to query how a lot he would pitch for Texas. He signed a five-year, $185 million contract shortly earlier than the winter conferences in December, with a mutual possibility for a sixth season.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner had struggled with myriad elbow and again accidents over the previous couple of seasons, throwing solely 156 and 1/3 innings over 2021 and 2022. He went practically a yr in between begins after ending the 2021 season with forearm tightness and beginning 2022 with a scapula harm.
“He was fighting through things,” Nimmo stated. “We all kind of are, but he was able to get through some of it. Ultimately, there is just so much stress that you can put on an arm and he’s had a long run with this Tommy John that he’s had before.”
DeGrom had his first ulnar collateral ligament restore surgical procedure shortly after he was drafted by the Mets in 2010. In a well-recognized twist, it was identified after six begins, this time with the rookie league Kingsport Mets. He was sidelined for all of 2011. The process didn’t seem to have an effect on his growth, as he nonetheless went on to develop into the NL Rookie of the Year in 2014 and was an All-Star in 2015.
But his 2016 season was minimize brief due to ulnar nerve issues, which led to a different elbow surgical procedure to reposition the nerve. He got here into the 2017 season decided to develop into an ace, which meant making 30 begins and pitching 200 innings. He took delight in reaching these milestones in 2018 and 2019, the identical years he received his Cy Young Awards.
“He’s just kind of better than everyone else,” Nimmo stated. “He locates his stuff where he wants to and it’s elite stuff. It’s three elite pitches that he locates in an elite way. For me, I never had to do much behind him. It was a joy to watch.”
The Rangers didn’t insure deGrom’s contract due to the fee. At 34 with a protracted harm historical past, it might’ve been exceptionally costly to insure him. The cash is assured.
The timeline for deGrom’s harm is 12 months, which implies he’ll miss the Rangers’ journey to Citi Field in August. With the brand new schedule, every group performs each other no less than as soon as all through the season, so there’s an out of doors probability that deGrom may face the Mets subsequent season if the whole lot aligns.
But even the 2024 season isn’t assured for a pitcher whose Hall of Fame candidacy is now doubtful.
“This stinks. It’s not ideal,” deGrom instructed Rangers reporters. “But at least we know what it is now. I want to get it fixed and will set a goal to be back before the end of next year.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com