NEW YORK – Jacob deGrom still plans to pitch on opening day, though New York Mets manager Luis Rojas didn’t seem so sure that would happen.
The two-time Cy Young award winner said he felt fine Thursday, two days after leaving an intra-school game early due to back strain. A preemptive MRI came back clean, and deGrom believes he simply could have “slept badly.”
“Having everything checked and checking all those boxes definitely makes me feel better about this situation,” he said.
“I think it was a random thing, I woke up a little stiff … these past few days I’ve felt good.”
He hopes to pitch on Friday and still believes he can get another 60-65 pitch tune-up, perhaps now in Sunday’s exhibition game against the Yankees instead of Saturday, before beginning the season opener on July 24. versus Atlanta as scheduled. The right-hander said she could throw only about 85 pitches on opening day instead of the 100 she was targeting, but her goal remains to take the ball.
However, Rojas said the team is taking a daily approach as deGrom receives treatment and will have to re-evaluate.
“Look how it feels tomorrow,” said Rojas. “We have to spend this couple of days at least.”
The Mets are already without No. 2 starter Noah Syndergaard. He underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season, which was cut to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Mets second baseman Robinson Cano returned to the team after missing a couple of days due to personal problems.
Cano, 37, said he wants to keep the reasons for his absence a secret. He hopes to be ready for opening day when the Mets host the Atlanta Braves on July 24.
“I went home and spent time in the Dominican Republic [Republic] with my family, “Cano said.” I don’t know if you know it; I have my own field where I trained every day, and I had the opportunity to work there with my father and be able to do my job and stay fit. “
Cano is heading into his second year with the Mets after he was acquired in the December 2018 trade that sent top prospect Jarred Kelenic to Seattle. Cano hit .256 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs in 107 games last season.
Rojas said deGrom left camp Tuesday night after just one inning at Citi Field, which gave the club a scare.
“The weird thing is, it was out of the blue,” deGrom said Thursday in a video conference. “This was nothing like a pitch at all, it was just not relaxed.”
“I wasn’t too worried because I didn’t think it was serious,” he added. “If that was a normal game, I wouldn’t have said anything. But when it came to a spring training game or summer camp, there was no reason to get over something and risk hurting myself. So as I said, it was as a precaution and I just tried to play smart. “
Last year, deGrom won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award after going 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA in 204 innings. He led the National League with 255 strikeouts.
The stiffness in the back of the preseason has bothered deGrom in the past, beating his initial start from opening day to the second game of the year in 2018. But he hasn’t neglected it for long.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
.
