Jacob deGrom’s next rehab start will be Wednesday with Triple-A Syracuse, and is "hopefully very close to the end" of his rehab.
DeGrom threw on Monday and “looked good” according to Mets manager Buck Showalter, who joined Carton & Roberts on WFAN to give an update on the righty’s status.
“He just threw a little while ago and looked good,” Buck said, joking that “I’m not one of those guys that walks by him every 30 minutes and asks him how his left toe is feeling or how the arm feels when he’s combing his hair. He doesn’t want to hear that.”
DeGrom threw 60 pitches with five up-downs in a simulated game Thursday and “felt good,” so he will toe the rubber for Syracuse on five days’ rest on Wednesday. And yes, while the team is hopeful deGrom’s next outing after that will be back in MLB – a timeframe that would mark nearly 13 full months from his last real action – Buck was again coy about the future.
“Nobody wants to be here more than him, and the sooner the better, but we want to make sure he’s right,” Buck said. “We’re very close to hopefully the end of this, and if not, we’ll make the adjustment and move on. We’ve had to tweak a couple things here or there, but it’s close, depending on how you define close.”
DeGrom’s 30-day rehab clock is set to expire on August 2, and with Mondays a minor league-wide off day, going on July 27 likely means it’s either MLB or an expired clock and a reset for the righty. That said, while he should be in line for 70-75 pitches and five or six innings on Wednesday, Showalter isn’t comfortable with the idea of bringing deGrom back if he’s not fully ready to go much more than that.
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“No,” Showalter said when Evan asked if a shorter start with a piggyback was a possibility for deGrom. “You have to keep in mind about putting your bullpen in harm’s way. You have some off days right now, but when you bring in a starter who can only have a short outing, you put your bullpen in harm’s way.”
David Peterson is the likely odd man out when deGrom does return, so Evan asked if Buck might consider Peterson as a piggyback or a reliever, ideas Buck was hesitant about, citing the job Peterson has done as a starter to keep the Mets afloat.
Evan then asked if the Mets might consider a six-man rotation down the stretch to keep some guys healthier, and, well, Buck’s answer was seemingly maybe but probably not.
“I’d consider anything at some point, but right now, we’re not there,” Showalter said. “It’s important right now, still in July, that we have what-ifs if we have a bump in the road with one of our starters. Never assume anything with these guys. We’re about to start a stretch if 14 games in 13 days, so you better have your what-ifs in place. You better have some starters, and if you start pitching this guy one inning, you’re not going to have him as a starter if the need arises.”
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