Jacob deGrom has been one of the league’s best hitting pitchers this year, but it sounds like that might have to change going forward.
deGrom admitted that a swing in his last start aggravated his shoulder issue, and it informed his thinking in his first start since on Monday. deGrom initially planned not to swing at all, but was put in an awkward situation when he came to the plate in the second inning with runners at second and third and two out. deGrom explained that he opted to take a more conservative swing, and he ended up flying out.
"I felt like I aggravated the shoulder on the swing last start so I was just trying to be smart there"
Jacob deGrom discusses his approach at the plate with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the 2nd inning pic.twitter.com/rYMG8lkfDB
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 21, 2021
deGrom had been hitting .423 on the season, so he was more than holding his own at the plate. However, this was something the Mets wanted. deGrom wants to be healthy enough to keep pitching, so he has every reason to follow that advice.
Like it or not, deGrom’s comments are another indication of why this rule is inevitably on its way to MLB at some point.
