Orthopedic surgeon discusses if Jacob deGrom is an injury risk 

Orthopedic sports surgeon Deepak Chona, M.D., suggested a team can pay free-agent ace Jacob deGrom without worry this fall. 

While speaking with Danny Abriano of SNY, Chona said that deGrom's setbacks over the past couple of years "don't necessarily indicate an anatomic weak point that should make us think he's injury-prone." 

Specifically, deGrom missed the second half of the 2021 season because of elbow problems and then was sidelined from the end of spring training through July this year due to a stress reaction in the scapula of his pitching shoulder.

"It's unlikely that a stress reaction in his scapula is related to the elbow inflammation that sidelined him previously," Chona explained. "Furthermore, both of these injuries generally heal well without any lingering performance or durability impacts. Could he get hurt again? Yes, absolutely. The forces of throwing a fastball put the shoulder and elbow at elevated risk in every pitcher. But there's nothing about his recent injury history to suggest that his risk is higher than any other pitcher of his age." 

Chona, the founder of SportsMedAnalytics who trained to become a surgeon at Stanford and Harvard, hasn't treated deGrom but commented on the 34-year-old's recovery from injuries on multiple occasions this year. Meanwhile, the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner opted out of his contract with the New York Mets earlier this month and is free to sign with any team. 

In total, deGrom made 11 regular-season starts for the Mets in 2022 and went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 102 strikeouts across 64.1 innings of work. He's been linked with a potential return to the Amazins and also with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.

SNY's Andy Martino reported Monday that the New York Yankees "recently requested medical information on deGrom." 

Martino was sure to point out this doesn't mean the Yankees will pursue deGrom and that "teams request medicals on free agents all the time before determining whether to mount a full-scale pursuit." He also noted that re-signing deGrom "remains a priority" for the Mets ahead of Thanksgiving.