PORT ST. LUCIE – The Mets did not escape spring training without a Jacob deGrom scare.
One week before the season begins in Washington, there is suddenly a question of whether their ace will be ready for Opening Day after deGrom reported some tightness in the back of his right shoulder while long-tossing Thursday.
Buck Showalter did not want to sound alarms and did not definitively say that deGrom would be scratched from his scheduled start against the Cardinals on Friday. But the Mets manager said deGrom would have to be pretty persuasive in convincing the team he is OK to take the mound for his final spring tune-up.
The plan, for now, is to see how deGrom feels Friday morning. If the soreness remains, Showalter suggested they likely would send deGrom for an MRI exam.
“Let’s see what tomorrow brings,” said Showalter, who still sees a path for deGrom to miss a day and take the ball when the season begins Thursday. “That’s why we purposely put all the pitchers on an extra day’s rest before the season starts so that if we have something, we can move it around.”