Jacob deGrom joins Mets in Miami ahead of series vs. Marlins

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom continues to inch toward making his 2022 MLB season debut coming off the stress reaction in the scapula of his pitching shoulder that initially began bothering him late in spring training. 

According to an SNY update, deGrom joined the Mets in Florida ahead of their series opener at the Miami Marlins on Friday evening. The 34-year-old recently completed a fourth rehab appearance on Wednesday afternoon, and manager Buck Showalter confirmed the plan at that time was for deGrom to make his next start with the big-league club barring any setback. 

The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner is not expected to pitch in Miami but could be good to go as soon as Monday's series opener at the Washington Nationals. It's also possible that deGrom could face Washington on either Tuesday or Wednesday if fellow ace Max Scherzer gets the ball for Monday's encounter. 

It continues to be a long road back for deGrom, who still hasn't pitched in an MLB regular-season game since July 7, 2021. He missed the second half of the previous campaign because of lingering elbow issues. As for the first-place Mets, they began Friday holding a three-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings.