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Mets ace Jacob deGrom exits early with right flexor tendinitis

Jack Baer
·Staff writer
·2 min read

One of the best starts to a season MLB has ever seen from a pitcher may have hit another snag.

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom exited a start early on Friday with right flexor tendinitis, the team announced. He had been dealing against the Padres at the time of his removal, striking out 10 in six scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, but left despite throwing only 80 pitches.

DeGrom expressed optimism about his elbow to reporters after the game, saying he didn't believe any of his ligaments had been damaged:

"I'm not too concerned about it because it didn't get much worse as the game went out, but there in the sixth inning, when I was trying to loosen up, I could feel it and it was tightening up a little bit. I've had a couple elbow issues before and I know what that feels like, so my level of concern is not too high. I'm pretty optimistic about it and pretty sure it's going to be something that we can treat and hopefully not miss any time.

"Whenever you say 'elbow' anything for a pitcher, everybody gets a little nervous about that. But like I said, I do a lot of ligament tests on my own, and doing those, knowing what that feels like, it's a totally different spot."

DeGrom had already spent two weeks on the 10-day injured list last month due to issues with his side and back. Any issue in that forearm are would be even more cause for concern about the right-hander's health.

Forget the Cy Young, Jacob deGrom is an MVP candidate

Through 10 starts this season, deGrom hasn't just been elite. He's been historic.

He currently holds a 0.56 ERA and 0.53 WHIP with 103 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. He has the lowest ERA through 10 starts since earned runs became a statistic, holds the lowest WHIP in any 10 start span since 1901 and has reached 100 strikeouts faster than any player since the mound was moved in 1893.

The most stunning stat of all, though, is that deGrom has more RBIs than earned runs allowed this season (he is 10-for-25 at the plate with 5 RBIs and a double).

Losing deGrom for a significant amount of time would be catastrophic for the Mets, who sit in first place in the NL East at 30-24.

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