CLEVELAND — Jacob deGrom remained in Florida to throw a bullpen session Friday, but not to the satisfactory results the Mets had hoped.
All indications point to the righty receiving a stint on the disabled list, although deGrom — who has been bothered by a sore right lat — may throw again Sunday in Port St. Lucie before a final determination is reached.
On Friday, he threw an abbreviated 25-pitch side session, with a club source indicating his lat was still an issue.
DeGrom, according to manager Terry Collins, has undergone an MRI exam — the results of which the team never made public. But the fact deGrom was allowed to throw Friday indicates he is not dealing with a tear in the muscle.
“He’s a big piece to the puzzle, so he needs to do a little bit more of a full pen to make a determination where he’s at, so we’ll wait until Sunday,” Collins said before the Mets’ 6-5 victory over the Indians.
Logan Verrett, who threw six shutout innings against the Marlins on Wednesday in deGrom’s place, would take that rotation spot Tuesday in Philadelphia if needed.
DeGrom left the team earlier this week for the birth of his first child in the Orlando, Fla., area, but was not placed on paternity leave. Forgoing that move allows the Mets to backdate a potential DL stint to April 9 — the day after deGrom last pitched.
In that start against the Phillies, the righty departed after six innings because of soreness in the lat. But deGrom downplayed the lat issue as the cause for his drop in velocity, which was noticeable in spring training.
DeGrom, who threw his fastball mostly in the 95-97 mph range last season, topped out at 93 against the Phillies. In that start, deGrom allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out six.
Steven Matz and Dillon Gee battled lat injuries the past two seasons and missed significant action, so the Mets are showing caution with deGrom, based on recent experience.
Verrett likely would make at least two starts in deGrom’s place if a stint on the DL is needed. But until a determination is made, the Mets are playing a man short: Eric Campbell was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday to create roster space for Rafael Montero.
The righty Montero had a high upside entering last season, but went on the DL with shoulder discomfort in late April and never reemerged. The Mets had hoped Montero would return for the stretch run, and team officials wondered about the severity of his shoulder soreness given that repeated MRI exams showed no structural damage.
DeGrom’s absence was felt Wednesday, when Collins used Jeurys Familia for a five-out save because the bullpen was drained. Verrett, who normally would have been an option to enter that game in the late innings, was needed to start. The drastic measures included using Jim Henderson for a second straight game, a day after the righty — who had shoulder surgery in 2014 — threw a career-high 34 pitches. But the Mets escaped with a 2-1 victory to snap a four-game skid.
