Mets Morning News: deGroan

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Jacob deGrom’s MRI revealed a pretty devastating diagnosis: a stress reaction on his scapula that has caused inflammation in the area. He will have to discontinue throwing for up to four weeks and then he will be reevaluated.

This means the Mets will not have the dynamic duo of deGrom and Scherzer they hoped for to start the season. Joel Sherman of the Post writes about what this means and how the Mets’ pitching depth could weather the storm.

“Everybody has adversity,” general manager Billy Eppler said in the aftermath of the deGrom news. “Everybody does. Every team, all the time. So you deal with these things. Would we have loved to have had Jake out there on Opening Day? Yeah, absolutely. But we understand that this is what teams go through. So that’s what we’ll do. We’ll manage it and move forward.”

“I mean, he’s disappointed,” Eppler said of deGrom’s reaction to the situation. “We’re disappointed. Everybody is sharing in the disappointment right now. Nobody is immune to that.”

“The sky isn’t falling,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s just raining.”

Scapula injuries are not very common in pitchers, but there is some precedent. Righty Brandon McCarthy has had this issue chronically in his career and tweeted that it “really isn’t a big deal.” Michael Wacha missed two and a half months with a stress reaction in his scapula in 2014.

Billy Eppler also said yesterday that deGrom’s injury “does not increase his motivation to acquire a pitcher from outside the organization.”

But news emerged early this morning that the Mets have discussed a potential trade with the Padres that would involve Eric Hosmer and Chris Paddack for Dominic Smith, according to multiple reports. Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres may need to attach a prospect to a Hosmer in order to clear his money and Joel Sherman of the Post is reporting that the Mets would also get reliever Emilio Pagan in the package with the Padres eating much of Hosmer’s deal in order to get the Mets to bite.

The Mets are off today. Max Scherzer was set to throw a simulated game, but he himself has been dealing with a hamstring “tweak.” It has been described as “very minor,” however, and there does not seem to be much concern about it from the Mets or Scherzer. He will go forward with throwing an intrasquad minor league game today.

“I don’t know if we can be any more cautious than we’ve been,” Buck Showalter said about Scherzer’s ramp up.

Reliever Jake Reed has been dealing with some oblique soreness and has yet to throw off a mound, which means he will not be ready to start the season.

Bartolo Colón and Yoenis Céspedes are both set to return for Old-Timers’ Day at Citi Field.

The spark that Starling Marte brings to the team with his speed and stolen base ability is reminiscent of José Reyes, writes David Lennon of Newsday.

Steve Buckley of The Athletic wrote a feature about Shaun Clancy, the owner of Foley’s—the iconic New York sports bar that was forced to close its doors during the pandemic. Clancy is now living in Florida and happy working at Publix frying chicken, but does say he dreams of perhaps reopening Foley’s in a different way...like maybe inside of Citi Field.

Ed Coleman is retiring from WFAN. “It’s been a huge part of my life, to say the least,” he said.

Old friend Wilmer Font achieved history last night: it was the first time ever a starting pitcher has thrown 9 perfect innings in the KBO history.

Around the National League East

Matthew Roberson of the New York Daily News wrote his NL East preview.

Federal Baseball predicts the Nationals Opening Day roster.

Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks the betting markets are way off for the Braves, who at the moment have longer odds of winning the World Series than several other teams, including the Mets.

Around Major League Baseball

MLB umpires will now use a microphone to announce replay review decisions, similar to what happens in the NFL. The league announced that training has been held for the new system in Florida and Arizona this spring.

Yesterday the Dodgers traded A.J. Pollock to the White Sox straight up for Craig Kimbrel.

Mere minutes after this blockbuster trade was announced, White Sox manager Rick Hahn broke the news that lefty Garrett Crochet will likely need Tommy John surgery.

Mere days before having to report to their new teams, minor leaguers with wives and children are finding out that the new policy guaranteeing housing for players doesn’t take families into account. Because some teams will only provide arrangements that sleep two players to a room, “We don’t know if we’re being forced either to find housing on our own with no help, or if we’re going to have to go months without seeing wives and children,” one player said.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN writes about the oddities and fun moments that are lost with the universal DH and gets some perspectives from pitchers who will miss hitting (like Max Scherzer) and pitchers who won’t miss it at all.

The Yankees are going to appeal the release of the “Yankees letter.”

Joel Sherman of the Post wrote about what an extension for Aaron Judge might look like, based on comparable extensions across baseball.

Speaking of extensions, the Diamondbacks extended righty Merrill Kelly on a two-year, $18 million deal.

And the Blue Jays extended Manager Charlie Montoyo through the end of the 2023 season.

What is this, a crossover episode? JJ Watt hung out with Shohei Ohtani yesterday and tweeted about it.

If Oliver Perez makes the Diamondbacks, this will be his 20th season in the majors. He’s trying to enjoy every moment of a ride that could be ending soon.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Maggie Wiggin wrote up her experience attending the unveiling of the new food items at Citi Field on Thursday.

Joey Lucchesi will likely miss most of this season, but may be able to contribute during the stretch run, if the Mets find themselves in that position. Linda Surovich previewed his season.

This Date in Mets History

Davey Johnson made his Mets managerial debut on this date in 1984, but the Mets snapped a 14-year Opening Day winning streak in his first game.