Injured New York Mets starters Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz could return as early as next week to boost a heavily injured rotation.
It is no secret that the New York Mets have heavily missed two of their most dominant starter pitchers over the past few weeks in Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz. After all the waiting, finally, the team received some good news regarding their two young studs on Tuesday.
The Mets announced that both deGrom and Matz have a chance of returning to the team as soon as Sunday.
Rafael Montero is expected to be the starting pitcher for Sunday afternoon’s game against the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field, but due to his recent struggles, the Mets are hoping that either deGrom or Matz can be ready to make that start on Sunday in place of Montero.
Montero has made three starts for the Mets this season, all of them within the past few weeks and it has been a rough time for Montero. In those three starts Montero went 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA, 14 walks, and nine strikeouts in 11 innings pitched. Montero’s most recent outing was probably his worst yet as he only lasted 1.2 innings while allowing six earned runs, five hits, four walks, and two home runs in a 8-1 Mets loss to the Washington Nationals.
So with that being said, the Mets should be thrilled to have deGrom and Matz making progress in their rehab assignments as they are both trying to come back from minor injuries. Matz went on the 15 day DL on Aug. 22 due to tightness in his left shoulder while deGrom has been dealing with soreness in his right forearm, causing him to miss a couple of starts.
Both of these pitchers have made major progress in their rehab assignments this week as deGrom threw a 35 pitch bullpen session on Monday while Matz is expected to throw off of a mound Wednesday afternoon.
If everything goes right for both deGrom and Matz these next few days, it is a possibility that both of these pitchers can make an appearance on Sunday. Mets manager, Terry Collins said during his pregame press conference on Tuesday that it’s “very possible” that deGrom and Matz could “piggyback” one another on Sunday afternoon, meaning one of these two pitchers would start the first few innings of the game while the other will come in relief behind him and pitch a few innings.
This strategy can work in the Mets favor as Rafael Montero will most likely not make another start for the Mets this season due to his recent struggles. Also, with deGrom and Matz being two of the best starting pitchers the Mets have, the team needs to make sure that both of these guys stay healthy, especially if this team makes the postseason.
Having deGrom and Matz piggyback on Sunday can help limit their innings/pitch count while at the same time giving Terry Collins a good idea of how healthy these two pitchers are at this point after missing the past few weeks.
