New York Mets' DeGrom sees throwing green light

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom resumed throwing on Wednesday as manager Luis Rojas welcomed the "great news" for the MLB franchise.

Mets' deGrom cleared to throw

DeGrom has been sidelined since July after being shut down from throwing due to right forearm tightness.

The four-time All-Star and two-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner played catch at Citi Field midweek following an MRI and while there is no timeframe regarding a return, Rojas is buoyed by the news.

"Jacob was cleared to start playing catch," Rojas told reporters on Wednesday. "He started today.

"Had an MRI this morning and the doctor gave him the green light after looking at the results.

"We'll see where we go from here. There's not a progression mapped out yet on how things are going to keep going, but at least getting to play catch today, that's great news for us."

DeGrom has posted staggering numbers this season, going 7-2 with an MLB-best 1.08 ERA in 15 starts and striking out a remarkable 14.3 batters per nine innings while walking just 1.1 per nine. 

Rojas added: "It'll be huge to have him at the end. We gotta start playing better baseball, especially if our offense starts clicking. To see Jake late in the season, probably at a perfect point of the season where we're closing the gap or facing our division rivals, it would be ideal.

"But I don't know a timeline yet with Jake on how things are going to go, starting with today's clearance of playing catch. It would be huge to have him back."

Meanwhile, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard will begin a minor league rehab assignment via the High-A Brooklyn on Thursday.

Syndergaard underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in March last year and has not played since sitting out the coronavirus-shorted 2020 season.

Heading into Wednesday's clash with the San Francisco Giants, the Mets (61-64) were third in the NL East, seven games adrift of the Wild Card spots.