Jacob deGrom told reporters earlier this week that pitching in the upcomoing All-Star Game was not in the cards with the Mets ace scheduled to pitch on Sunday, just before the All-Star break.
But with his penultimate start before the break pushed from Tuesday to Wednesday because of yet another rainout, could deGrom now make an appearance and his first-ever start in the Midsummer Classic?
Not so fast, as manager Luis Rojas told reproters on Wednesday that the window is still open for deGrom to take the mound on Sunday.
"If we don't have a starter, and we have guys that are available out of our bullpen, there's a rested Jake for example, without doing his side work, he can use it as his side work," Rojas said. "He can give us a couple of innings and blend in with like a bullpen day, knowing that we're going into the break.
"We haven't discussed that yet. Obviously he's pitching [Wednesday]. What we don't have is a pitcher Sunday right now. There is a scenario where Jake can pitch Sunday for us, in a way. We haven't discussed that yet."
deGrom would be on short rest on Sunday, but as Rojas said, the ace could wind up turning in an abbreviated outing if need be, as the Mets continue to lose starters to the IL. With Carlos Carrasco, Noah Syndergaard, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi and Corey Oswalt all down with injuries, New York is piecing together its rotation on the fly, which led to the team pondering a potential bullpen day with deGrom eating up a few innings on Sunday.
"That's something this morning and even last night that we thought of briefly," Rojas said. "Something we can do if we don't have a starter that day, where Jake could come back and pitch for us, but we haven't talked about the All-Star break yet. We'll see Sunday if that happens. Let's see how it goes [Wednesday] and how he responds in the next couple days, but let's see what happens and what the decision is for Sunday."
We'll see if deGrom's All-Star plans are altered due to Tuesday's postponement, but given his multiple minor injuries this season and the Mets holding onto a lead in the NL East, he will prioritize the Mets first, as he said before Tuesday's rainout.
"I'm supposed to throw Sunday," deGrom said. "For me, I don't think it's smart to go pitch in the All-Star Game. I've been a little beat up this first half and obviously missed a few starts that I wish I wouldn't have missed, so I don't think it makes sense for me to throw in it."
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