A video surfaced on Tuesday of what appears to be Jacob deGrom throwing in the outfield at Citi Field, and now we know that the ace’s rehab has been moved from Port St Lucie, Fla. to New York, and with good reasoning.
Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner explained to Newsday’s Tim Healey on Tuesday that deGrom is getting closer to throwing bullpen sessions, and Hefner wants to have his eyes on those bullpens when they happen.
“The intensity is starting to climb now,” Hefner told Newsday. “We want to have eyes on him as we progress towards bullpens, we want to make sure that [everything is going well]. Not that the people in Port St. Lucie can’t do that. But once he’s starting bullpens, then he can do that with me, we can get him into that routine and those sorts of things.”
DeGrom, who has ramped up his throwing regimen after a recent MRI showed “continued healing” on the stress reaction in his scapula, has been throwing “out to 60 feet at light intensity” according to GM Billy Eppler.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on his podcast, The Show, on Tuesday that someone with the Mets told him “late June” could be a possible target for deGrom’s return, but Hefner didn’t get much into the timeline when asked on Tuesday.
“I don’t want to put timelines on anything, because it could go fast,” Hefner said to Newsday. “It could be four weeks. It could be 12 weeks. We have to see how his body reacts to it.”
While the exact timeline may still be a mystery, we now know that deGrom is getting closer to throwing his first bullpen session, which will be a huge step back in his recovery.