Jacob deGrom had been on the Injured List with what was expected to be a minor injury. The New York Mets had hoped he would only be sidelined for a week or two before returning to the rotation in time to help with their push for the postseason. Instead, those days and weeks dragged on, as deGrom was unable to get to the next step in his rehab.
As it turns out, deGrom was dealing with a far worse injury than anyone thought. According to Sandy Alderson, deGrom has a partial tear in the UCL in his right elbow.
Sandy Alderson said Jacob deGrom’s elbow injury was a sprain/partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 7, 2021
But, Alderson emphasized, deGrom is fine now.
“The ligament is perfectly intact at this point,” he said. “Whatever condition existed before, it’s resolved itself.”
We can trust the New York Mets about Jacob deGrom now, right?
It is no surprise that deGrom was dealing with a more severe injury than the Mets had originally indicated. He had six different ailments this year, including numerous issues with his arm. deGrom had left outings early due to soreness, but the Mets insisted that everything was perfectly fine.
There is no longer any reason to be concerned now though. That partially torn/sprained UCL has taken care of itself because the human body is a miracle. And, given the Mets history with injuries this season, there is absolutely no reason as to why anyone should be suspicious of these claims at all.
On a more serious note, it is possible to pitch at a high level with that sort of injury. Masahiro Tanaka has done so for years even if his elbow is a ticking time bomb. If any other pitcher can find that same level of success with a similar injury, deGrom would be the most likely.
Whether or not his ligament is actually intact now should not matter. deGrom will not be able to ramp up in time to help over the final few weeks of the season. The playoffs seem to be a pipe dream at this point. Instead, it would make sense to keep deGrom on the shelf to rest up and heal for next year. Then again, logic does not always apply to the Mets.
According to the New York Mets, Jacob deGrom had a partial tear/sprain of his UCL. But he is completely fine now – we can trust them to tell the truth.