Jacob deGrom Struggles in Rehab Start but Expected to Rejoin New York Mets Next

Jacob deGrom struggled in his latest rehab start, but is expected to rejoin the New York Mets as his next step.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty results-wise, but Jacob deGrom completed his fourth rehab start, and fifth rehab outing overall, on Wednesday afternoon without any hiccups.

In his second start for Triple-A Syracuse, DeGrom went four innings, allowing four earned runs, two home runs, three walks and six strikeouts. He threw 67 pitches, which was eight pitches shy of his 75-pitch goal. However, there was no guarantee that he would’ve stayed at or under the limit if allowed to face another batter across an additional up-and-down.

According to manager Buck Showalter, the current plan is for deGrom's next start to come in the major leagues with the Mets. Showalter also noted that deGrom's arm felt good, despite dealing with some command issues in his latest rehab start.

Buck Showalter says the current plan is for Jacob deGrom to make his next start with the Mets:

"That's the plan right now, but we'll see." pic.twitter.com/jr0ToPUwMi
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 27, 2022

As long as deGrom avoids any physical issues or ailments in the coming days, his next start will line up for next week's series in D.C. at Nationals Park. On a full five-days rest, deGrom could potentially take the hill for the Mets on August 2, coincidentally, this would be the same day as MLB’s trade deadline.

The Mets’ starting rotation has dominated over the course of the past month. Overall, New York is 51-5 when scoring four or more runs, which speaks volumes to their staff. Inject deGrom into the mix, a two-time Cy Young winner, paired with three-time Cy Young recipient Max Scherzer, and this unit looks even scarier.

DeGrom hasn’t pitched in a regular season game since July 7, 2021. He has yet to make his season debut this year due to a shoulder injury suffered in the end of spring training.

DeGrom could soon snap his prolonged streak away from the majors by making his long awaited return next turn in the rotation. For now, that's the plan, which will be a major impact for an already deep and talented staff.

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