Mets reportedly feel Jacob deGrom return 'a possibility' in late June

There hasn't been a definitive timetable for Jacob deGrom's return to the Mets, but Audacy's Jon Heyman is hearing from a source that "late June" could be it. 

Speaking on his podcast, The Show, Heyman laid out what he heard from someone with the team. 

"DeGrom, I finally heard a timetable. Somebody with the Mets told me late June," he said. "To me, that seems optimistic. I'm looking at July, I think him and (Max) Scherzer coming back around the All-Star break makes sense -- they felt June is a possibility for deGrom."

A video from Citi Field was also shared Tuesday of what appears to be deGrom lightly throwing in the outfield. He was cleared to ramp up his regimen after his MRI revealed "continued healing in the scapula," as GM Billy Eppler put it. 

Eppler noted that deGrom was throwing "out to 60 feet at light intensity," and this video shows just that.

Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner explained to Newsday’s Tim Healey on Tuesday night that deGrom is getting closer to throwing bullpen sessions, which is why his rehab has been moved to New York.

“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.”

“We have a general sense, but not to go into details,” Eppler said last week. “We’re not going to set timelines on people but more treating them as they progress through things.”

DeGrom still hasn't gotten on the mound, so if late June is a possibility, that would have to happen soon. From there, he'd need to ramp up to game speed and basically go through a brief spring training-like rehab to be ready for regular season baseball. 

The Mets could definitely use deGrom back before the All-Star break: Scherzer is out until around then after suffering an oblique injury and Tylor Megill is also sidelined as well.