Jacob deGrom Exits Mets vs. Cubs After 3 Perfect Innings Due to Shoulder Injury
June 17, 2021
New York Mets star Jacob deGrom exited Wednesday's start against the Chicago Cubs after three perfect innings with shoulder soreness, per Laura Albanese of Newsday.
He was replaced by Sean Reid-Foley, and Tim Britton of The Athletic noted deGrom went into the clubhouse and "looked uncomfortable" after an early pitch.
DeGrom gave the Mets a scare when he had to leave his last start against the San Diego Padres after six innings. He was diagnosed with right flexor tendinitis, but the right-hander wasn't concerned about it being a problem moving forward.
The Mets have had some of the worst injury luck in Major League Baseball this season. Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis, Albert Almora and Dellin Betances have all spent time on the injured list.
Noah Syndergaard, who underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, was shut down for six weeks at the end of May because of elbow inflammation after he experienced soreness during a rehab start.
Losing deGrom leaves an impossible void in New York's rotation to fill. The two-time National League Cy Young winner leads MLB with a 0.56 ERA and 0.53 WHIP with 103 strikeouts in 64 innings over 10 starts coming into Wednesday's game.
The Mets do have quality depth in the rotation, led by Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker, to get by without deGrom. But they need their ace in order to reach their full potential.
