Mets lose Jacob deGrom for season due to ulnar nerve surgery
The Mets have now lost two fifths of their Opening Day starting rotation for the year
Jacob deGrom‘s season is officially over, as he’s set to undergo ulnar nerve surgery in his right elbow later this week, the Mets announced.
GM Sandy Alderson said last week that deGrom would likely need the surgery, which is to move the ulnar nerve, which was causing elbow discomfort and numbness in deGrom’s fingers.
He was initially set to return to the rotation this past Sunday, but felt discomfort while throwing in the outfield and informed manager Terry Collins he couldn’t pitch.
DeGrom had a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 143 strikeouts in 148 innings (24 starts) this season.
The recovery time for ulnar nerve surgery is said to be three-to-six months, so deGrom will hopefully be ready well in advance of Spring Training or shortly after it begins.
With deGrom now out for the season, the Mets are officially without both him and Matt Harvey for the remainder of the year.
Meanwhile, Steven Matz — who has been out since Aug. 14 — is tentatively set to return to the rotation on Friday.
If Matz is able to return, the rotation will also consist of Noah Syndergaard, Bartolo Colon, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman.
As far as what this means for deGrom, this surgery is nowhere near as serious as Tommy John surgery.
It’s not yet known if this was bothering deGrom earlier in the year when he was struggling with his velocity, but he said earlier this month after the issue cropped up that he simply had no command.
In any event, before worrying about next season, the Mets need to worry about completing their run to the playoffs.
It’ll be much harder to go far in October without deGrom (and Harvey), but stranger things have happened.
The 2006 Cardinals had no business being in the playoffs, let alone the World Series. And they won it all.
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