Port St Lucy, Florida. New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom will not be able to make his scheduled departure on Friday and will undergo an MRI after suffering stiffness in his right shoulder, raising questions about his condition in the season-opening round.
Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters Thursday night that Degrom likely won’t be on the list against the St. Louis Cardinals. He started feeling stiff on Thursday.
The two-time winner of the inaugural Cy Young Trophy for the season is set to begin Thursday in Washington.
This is worrying news for the Mets, who have big ambitions this season after signing ace Max Scherzer to join Degrom in a massive rotation.
After an exciting start last year, Degrom did not play in the second half of the season due to a sprained elbow. He was 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA in 15 outings, but the Mets collapsed without him to finish 77-85 after leading the Eastern National League for 103 days. He started his last game on July 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The right-hander came to camp in good health this year and allowed one to run in five runs in the Grapefruit League games, hitting 10 strokes. His last appearance on the hill was on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Earlier in the camp, Degrom said he plans to exercise his contract option to terminate him after this season and become a free agent.
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