Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will miss major time with shoulder inflammation, the Mets announced on Friday. Noah K. Murray/Associated Press
JUPITER, Fla. — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom will miss major time because of inflammation in his shoulder area, a huge blow to a team that heavily invested in making a deep run this season.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner won’t throw for up to four weeks and there is no timetable for his return, the Mets announced Friday.
“He’s disappointed. We’re disappointed. Everybody is sharing in the disappointment right now. Nobody’s immune to that,” Mets General Manager Billy Eppler said in Jupiter, where New York was playing St. Louis.
The Mets said an MRI earlier in the day showed a stress reaction on his right scapula that caused inflammation. The 33-year-old deGrom first experienced the tightness while playing catch Thursday.
DeGrom missed the second half of last season with an elbow injury.
“I think the good news is here there is nothing structurally wrong here, as far as the rotator cuff or anything like that is concerned. We are dealing with a bone issue and when you are dealing with bone, they calcify. The healing characteristics will take care of themselves, so I think that’s a positive that we walk away with,” Eppler said.
DeGrom had been set to start the season opener Thursday in Washington. The Mets had considered their rotation a major strong suit this season after signing three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and trading for All-Star Chris Bassitt.
After getting off to a sensational start last year, deGrom didn’t pitch after July 7 because of a sprained elbow. He was 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA in 15 outings, but New York collapsed without him to finish 77-85 after leading the NL East for 103 days.
DeGrom reported to camp healthy this year and had permitted one run over five innings in Grapefruit League games, striking out 10. The right-hander’s most recent outing was Sunday against the Cardinals.
Earlier in camp, deGrom said he plans to opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent.
TRADE: The Dodgers acquired eight-time All-Star reliever Craig Kimbrel from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock.
Kimbrel was 4-5 with 24 saves in a combined 63 games with the Chicago Cubs and White Sox last season. The Cubs shipped him across town at midseason in exchange for Codi Heaur and Nick Madrigal. Kimbrel was 2-2 with the White Sox with one save in 24 games.
Kimbrel rediscovered the form that made him one of the game’s best closers and was named to his eighth All-Star team last season.
The 33-year-old right-hander was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2011. He led the league in saves from 2011 to 2014. Kimbrel ranks ninth all-time in the majors with 372 saves as he begins his 13th season.
Kimbrel fulfills the Dodgers’ need for a shutdown option late in games, especially with the departure of 10-year closer Kenley Jansen, who signed a one-year deal with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves.
Pollock hit .282 with 65 home runs and 199 RBI in three seasons with the Dodgers. The 34-year-old outfielder’s best season came last year, when he batted. .297 with 21 homers and 69 RBI in 117 games.
Meanwhile, the White Sox agreed to terms on a $7.45 million, one-year deal with right-hander Lucas Giolito to avoid arbitration.
UMPIRES: In addition to “Play ball!” and “Yer Out!”, big league umpires will be heard saying “Overturned!” and “Upheld!” for the first time this season.
Major League Baseball said umpires will conduct in-park announcements during the replay reviews this season. The decision was delayed two seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We discussed the possibility of doing this with the umpires during their most recent CBA negotiation,” MLB executive vice president Morgan Sword said, “and then COVID got in the way our planning. We finally were able this year to give them the appropriate training and get everybody ready for Opening Day.”
A crew chief will have a wireless microphone and first announce the call being challenged and which team initiated the challenge. After the review, the crew chief will announce the result.
Audio will go over ballpark public-address systems and be made available to broadcasters.
MLB was the last major pro sport in North America to institute replay when it began late in the 2008 season for home run calls. Video reviews were vastly expanded for the 2014 season.
DIAMONDBACKS: Merrill Kelly took a strange route to get to the big leagues but his journey – which includes a four-year stint in South Korea – has paid off with a new contact.
The right-hander has agreed to an $18 million, two-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks that covers the 2023 and 2024 seasons with a club option for 2025.
The 33-year-old Kelly will be paid $8 million per season in 2023 and 2024. He also gets a $1 million signing bonus and there’s a $1 million buyout if the team doesn’t exercise his option for 2025.
BLUE JAYS: Toronto extended Manager Charlie Montoyo’s contract through the 2023 season.
Montoyo, 57, has overseen a tumultuous period in Blue Jays history, with the team playing home games in three cities last season, including two minor league parks, because of border restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Toronto also played its 2020 home schedule at its Triple-A stadium in Buffalo, New York.
The 13th manager in Blue Jays history, and the first from Puerto Rico, Montoyo has a 190-194 record through three seasons with Toronto. He led Toronto to a wild card playoff berth in the expanded playoffs that followed the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but the Blue Jays were swept by eventual AL champion Tampa Bay in the opening round.
Toronto went 91-71 last year and missed tying for the AL wild card by one game.
WHITE SOX: Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson will serve a two-game suspension when the season starts next week for making contact with umpire Tim Timmons during the ninth inning of a game on Sept. 27.
Anderson appealed when the penalty, which originally included a three-game suspension, was announced last season. He tweeted Thursday that the penalty would be a two-game suspension and $10,000 fine.
MLB said Friday that the sides had reached a settlement. Anderson will miss games at Detroit on April 8-9.
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