This week was going too well for the Mets.
After winning three straight games, including the first two of the Subway Series, the Mets were brought back to reality Wednesday afternoon when starting pitcher Dillon Gee landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right lat.
Gee was scheduled to make the start Thursday against the Yankees, but he felt soreness after his start last Saturday against the Phillies and it would not subside. He threw a bullpen session Tuesday and realized when he woke up Wednesday he could not make his next start.
Jacob deGrom will make his major league debut in Gee’s place Thursday night. The Mets believe Gee will only miss two starts and come of the DL when he is eligible. The DL stint is retroactive to May 11.
“I think we’re really optimistic,” Gee said. “I know I’m optimistic about coming off the DL on time when I’m supposed to. Hopefully it won’t be an issue going forward. That’s why we’re doing this right now.”
The start from deGrom will make it two pitchers in two nights making their big league debuts for the Mets. Rafael Montero starts Wednesday against the Yankees. DeGrom had been with the Mets already. The team called him up Tuesday to join the bullpen. Gee’s injury now puts the spotlight on the 25-year-old, who was the Mets’ ninth-round pick in 2010.
“You never want to see anybody get hurt,” said deGrom, who was 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA this season for Triple-A Las Vegas. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity, that I get the chance to do it. I think I’m ready for it.”
So after months of talking about all the young pitching the Mets have, their fans now get to see it on display this week. Mets manager Terry Collins called it a “tremendous honor” to be able to start the homegrown arms.
“To be honest, this is the plan [general manager Sandy Alderson] had since he’s been here,” Collins said, ”to be able to reach down and pull up prospects – highly rated prospects – and bring them up to the major league level.”
The loss of Gee is a tough blow for the Mets. He has been their best starting pitcher, going 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA. He said he has never had a lat issue before and that was one of the reasons the doctors decided to shut him down.
Gee could not pinpoint when the injury occurred. He only threw 81 pitches against the Phillies in his last start, but said he felt no pain in that game. Gee said he felt unusual soreness the day after the start. The Mets delayed his between-starts bullpen session by a day. Gee said he felt OK throwing the bullpen at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, but the soreness returned afterward and worsened as the night went on.
Last year, Gee’s season turned around with a great outing against the Yankees on May 30. This year, his season hit a speed bump as the Yankees and Mets played.
“Instead of making this a bigger issue, trying to pitch through something like that and then maybe it keeps flaring up and I miss a month,” Gee said. “Now hopefully we can just miss two starts. In the scheme of a season, two starts isn’t huge. That’s why we’re trying to go ahead and take care of this right now.”