The New York Mets appear to have avoided any worst-case scenarios with ace Jacob deGrom, as an MRI on his elbow has come back clean. Manager Luis Rojas on Saturday told reporters that the MRI came back clean and that the team will proceed for now as though deGrom will be able to make his next start on schedule.
DeGrom was forced to leave his Friday start against the Padres after 80 pitches because of elbow discomfort. Such an injury is concerning in any pitcher, let alone one like deGrom, who's already undergone Tommy John surgery. Given deGrom's past history and velocity bump this season, his elbow health certainly bears monitoring going forward, but for now it doesn't appear to be a serious situation.
"I've had a couple elbow issues before, and I know what that feels like. So my level of concern is not too high," deGrom told reporters, including MLB.com's Anthony DiComo and ESPN's Marly Rivera, after Friday's game, adding he hopes he won't miss a start. "Whenever you say elbow, everybody gets nervous about that. I am not too worried about it. Hopefully it's something we can treat."
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While the Mets are in first place in the NL East despite an inordinate number of injuries thus far in 2021, any loss of deGrom for an extended period of time would be difficult to overcome. That's because deGrom is working on a historically great season. DeGrom owns an ERA of 0.56 and a WHIP of 0.53 through 10 starts and 64 innings, which is the lowest ERA and lowest WHIP through 10 starts in a single season since earned runs became an official stat in 1913. He's also gone at least five innings with no more than one earned run allowed in 10 straight starts. That's the second longest such streak behind Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (11 straight in 1968).
Furthermore, deGrom is only the second pitcher with 100 strikeouts and fewer than five earned runs allowed in a 10-game span, joining Chris Sale. Sale did it with the Red Sox in 2018. MLB.com's Sarah Langs adds that deGrom is the first pitcher since 1901 with 100 strikeouts and no more than 26 hits allowed in a 10-game span. If his current K/BB ratio of 12.88 hold up, then it would break the single-season record.
If deGrom is indeed able to stay on schedule, then he'll likely start at home against the Cubs on Wednesday.
