Jacob deGrom Is Injured Again, Which Sucks for Baseball
Jacob deGrom is undoubtedly the best, most dominant pitcher MLB has to offer when he's healthy. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old missed more than half of the 2021 season thanks to an elbow injury. Now it appears the New York Mets ace is going to miss significant time to open the 2022 campaign thanks to a shoulder injury. That's awful news for baseball fans because deGrom is incredibly fun to watch.
On Friday, an MRI revealed a "stress reaction" on his right scapula. Basically he's got an injury in his pitching shoulder. That's going to set him back, as the two-time Cy Young winner won't throw for up to four weeks. Once he resumes throwing it'll take time to rebuild strength, so returning will likely be a lengthy process.
New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will miss Opening Day after imaging showed a stress reaction in his right scapula, sources tell ESPN. While the timetable for deGrom's return is unclear, he's expected to miss a significant amount of time to start 2022. Story soon at ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022
That's awful news for people who like baseball. DeGrom hasn't pitched since July 7 of last year. The aforementioned elbow injury derailed what could have been an all-time great season. When he was shut down, deGrom was 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA, a 0.55 WHIP and 146 strikeouts against 11 walks in 92 innings over 15 starts. His K/BB ratio was an insane 13.3. He was unhittable and the best we've ever seen him. Which is saying a lot because he's been a monster for years.
A four-time All-Star who has led the National League in strikeouts twice, deGrom has truly dominated opposing hitters since 2018. He routinely sits in the upper-90s with his fastball, has a wicked slider that averages 91.6 mph, and a changeup that sits in the low 90s -- yes, you read that right, a 90+ mph changeup. You legitimately couldn't create a player in a video game with the same level of stuff and dominance as deGrom.
The worry, of course, is that his incredible ability has put too much stress on his pitching arm over the years, and that injuries have begun to to pile up as a result. In the span of nine months he's had serious elbow and shoulder issues in his pitching arm. That's terrible news for a guy entering his mid-30s.
Here's hoping he bounces back from this and returns to his dominant form.