The Mets have lost their ace for at least the first month of the season, but general manager Billy Eppler said the injury news on Jacob deGrom doesn't trigger a motivation to go out and get another pitcher.
"It doesn't," Eppler told reporters on Friday. "I feel really good about the depth that we have."
With Max Scherzer now taking over the ace role, the Mets will likely turn to Tylor Megill or David Peterson as the fifth starter until deGrom is ready to return. Megill had an up-and-down experience at the major league level as a rookie last season, posting a 4.52 ERA in seven starts, filling in when deGrom was hurt last year.
As for deGrom, Eppler talked with him on the phone shortly after his MRI results showed a stress reaction in his scapula.
"He's disappointed," Eppler said. "We're disappointed. Everybody is sharing in the disappointment right now. Nobody is immune to that.
"We're going to do everything we can to support him in every which way we can. Jake's a resilient person. With time, things heal. And so this is another situation where some time will have him healed and we'll get him back on the hill."
Still, Eppler is trying to focus on the positives for deGrom, even as the ace will not throw for at least four weeks after an injury-riddled 2021 campaign.
"The good news here is there's nothing structurally wrong as far as the rotator cuff or anything like that is concerned," Eppler said. "We are dealing with a bone issue, and when you're dealing with bone, they calcify. The healing characteristics will take care of themselves, so I think that's a positive that we walk away with."
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