Phillies Playoff Odds Increase with Injuries to Mets' Aces

New York Mets' aces, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, are both experiencing injury issues before Opening Day.

© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Phillies National League East rival New York Mets made a big splash this offseason when they acquired Max Scherzer at a three-year, $130 million rate on November 29.

Pairing Scherzer with Jacob deGrom at the top of their rotation was supposed to be a sure-fire way for the Mets to ensure consistency from their starting rotation throughout their 2022 campaign. But that reality has already been shattered a week prior to the regular season.

Jeff Passan of ESPN tweeted Friday that deGrom is experiencing issues in his right scapula, an area of the back near the shoulder.

New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will miss Opening Day after imaging showed a stress reaction in his right scapula, sources tell ESPN. While the timetable for deGrom's return is unclear, he's expected to miss a significant amount of time to start 2022. Story soon at ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022

According to Passan, deGrom is set to miss a month before he begins throwing again. By then, the Mets will reevaluate, but given deGrom's injury history, it wouldn't be surprising if this keeps him out longer than a month.

deGrom hasn't pitched a full season of a starter's workload since his impressive 2019 campaign. In 2021, his year was cut short due to forearm tightness, and he made 12 starts in 2020's shortened season.

Evan Roberts of New York radio's WFAN mentioned today that Scherzer may be experiencing an injury issue as well. Roberts said that the 37-year-old has been experiencing a potential hamstring issue.

The Mets still expect Scherzer to start Opening Day, but this injury concern could slow him down or limit his effectiveness this season.

The Mets now have a multitude of top players with injury problems. Should they intend to vie for a hyper-competitive NL East crown, they'll need both deGrom and Scherzer to maintain a clean bill of health for a majority of the season.

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