PHILADELPHIA — Jacob deGrom’s right shoulder has suddenly become the biggest health concern in the Mets universe.
The rookie right-hander has been scratched from his Tuesday start against the Nationals and will be examined Monday in New York, after having experienced recent soreness in the shoulder.
“I just felt a little something after last start and gave them a heads up,” deGrom said before the Mets lost 7-6 to the Phillies on Sunday. “They said let’s just try to skip one and do it from there.”
If deGrom’s absence is just one start, the Mets could fill from within, according to assistant general manager John Ricco, and use veteran Carlos Torres. But if deGrom needs an extended absence, the organization could consider promoting a prospect such as Noah Syndergaard or Rafael Montero from Triple-A Las Vegas.
But manager Terry Collins cautioned that the Mets bullpen is thin and Torres might be needed to pitch in Monday’s series finale. If the Mets have to pick between Syndergaard and Montero they are more likely to pick the latter, according to a club source. The reasoning is they want to try and avoid promoting Syndergaard and then potentially sending him back to the minors. Montero has already pitched in the majors this season.
Though Daisuke Matsuzaka is eligible to be removed from the disabled list, he is not far enough along in his rehab, according to Ricco, to be in position for a Tuesday start.
DeGrom is 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA and has emerged as a NL Rookie of the Year candidate. But the Mets are also beginning to monitor his workload — he’s pitched 138 ²/₃ innings split between Triple-A and the majors this season — and were considering finding a spot to skip his turn in the rotation even before the shoulder soreness. The Mets plan to cap deGrom around 180 innings.
“This may be hopefully a case where we skip a start — we were talking about doing that anyway,” Ricco said. “That may end up being the result of this, where he misses a start and we start managing his workload.”
DeGrom said he had a bout with shoulder soreness last season, but in a different location.
“I haven’t had this, but talking with the guys they don’t think it’s anything serious,” deGrom said. “I could probably go out there and pitch with it right now, but just talking to them, at this time of the year, it’s not really worth pushing it.”