New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will not start on Tuesday against the Yankees as he was originally expected to do. Instead, the Mets announced that Taijuan Walker will get the nod on Tuesday while deGrom will slot in against the Colorado Rockies on either Thursday or Friday, according to the New York Post.
DeGrom, 34 years old, has made four starts since returning from the injured list. His most recent outing came on Thursday, Aug. 18, meaning the Mets will be giving him about a week of rest in between appearances. In those four starts to date, he’s compiled a 2.31 ERA (172 ERA+) and a 37.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. (Lest that read like a typo, he’s really struck out 37 batters and issued just a single free pass so far.)
DeGrom had gone more than a calendar year before big-league appearances prior to returning to the Mets rotation on Aug. 2. Mets manager Buck Showalter stated that he wanted to break up deGrom and Max Scherzer in the rotation, suggesting there is no greater physical reason why deGrom had his start pushed back a few days.
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Walker, 30 years old, has posted a 3.36 ERA (117 ERA+) and a 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the course of 21 starts this season. He’s scuffled in recent starts, allowing 10 earned runs in nine innings over his last three outings.
Walker has been dealing with his own injury issues. He was scratched from his start on Sunday because of a bulging disc that required him to leave his most recent start (last Tuesday) after just two innings of work. Walker evidently made enough progress in his recovery to avoid the injured list.
That’s good news for the Mets, who lost veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco to the IL last week because of a strained oblique. The Mets also continue to be without breakout starter Tylor Megill because of a strained shoulder.
