New York Mets: Jacob deGrom OK as fans give big exhale

Jacob  deGrom avoids major injury, and New York Mets fans exhale deeply.

Wednesday night started out well for the New York Mets. Jacob deGrom started the game and had completed four shutout innings. His ERA was down to 1.87. But then, the unthinkable happened. Jacob deGrom was removed from the game after four innings with what was later revealed to be a hyperextended elbow.

With flashbacks of seasons past, Mets fans rightly paced their houses and lost sleep. Despite the love for Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom is the team ace. Then lo and behold, the following news comes out on Thursday morning:

When was the last time the Mets actually caught a break with regards to an injury report? It actually seems like it has been decades since an injury situation came back with good news. I know I was expecting deGrom to be put on the 60 day disabled list with a major elbow problem. It’s how Mets fans are conditioned.

To get the news that deGrom was cleared to prepare for his next start was almost worthy of having a party. Now it’s only May, so if Mickey Callaway decides to give Jacob a start or two off to be on the safe side, that would probably make some sense. But the bottom line on this is that deGrom won’t have to miss a ton of time. The season was hanging in the balance on that news.

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Make no mistake about it, Jacob deGrom is the ace of this staff. He is older than the rest of the guys and he knows how to “pitch”. What do I mean? He understands how to switch things up in his game to keep the team close. At this stage of their careers, the other guys “throw” a bit more than “pitch”.

Don’t forget how good deGrom has been in 2018. Those four scoreless innings brought his ERA down to 1.87. He is currently on a run of 18 1/3 scoreless innings. For the Mets to be successful, Jacob deGrom must be healthy. It sounds like he is. Thank goodness.