Mets injury update: Jacob deGrom to undergo surgery

Jacob deGrom will officially undergo surgery on the ulnar nerve in his pitching elbow later this week, the Mets announced today. The surgery has an estimated three-month recovery time, so it will officially end deGrom’s season.

The surgery is a minor one. It is meant to address an issue with his ulnar nerve, not the ligament. The procedure involves the removal of the nerve and scar tissue from the elbow.

This comes as a huge blow to the Mets, who were expecting to have deGrom start for them this past Sunday. Unfortunately, deGrom felt pain in his elbow while shagging fly balls on Friday, and it was revealed the next day that the Mets were shutting deGrom down.

deGrom was putting together yet another fine season, posting a 3.04 ERA and a 3.31 FIP. He was supposed to help anchor the Mets’ rotation down the stretch and possibly into the postseason if the Mets make it there, but now the team will have to continue without him.

deGrom is the second Mets starting pitcher to undergo season-ending surgery this year after Matt Harvey had surgery to remedy his thoracic outlet syndrom in July. Both Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard have had bone spurs this season but it’s not yet clear if either or both will have surgery in their future.

Gabriel Ynoa started in deGrom’s place on Sunday. While Ynoa did a fine job, Steven Matz is expecting to take that rotation spot on Friday, although that is anything but a certainty yet.