For a guy just a few days removed from surgery, Jacob deGrom seemed remarkably upbeat.
But then, why not?
DeGrom said the doctors successfully went into his right elbow Wednesday to reposition the ulnar nerve and discovered no damage to the ligament. What the surgeons found was exactly what they thought they would and that, deGrom said, was a relief.
“It’s reassuring when they got in there they could tell where it [the nerve] was getting aggravated and kind of compressed is the word he used,” said deGrom, who was under the care of noted surgeon Dr. David Altchek. “So the last thing I wanted to hear was [the nerve] looked fine and then what do you do?
“But having him say that because it’s right by the ligament and he actually had his eyes on the ligament too and he said that all looks great, so that’s very comforting,” deGrom said.
And another source of comfort, the Mets right-hander said, was hearing from pitchers — John Smoltz and Ron Darling — who underwent the same procedure and were able to bounce back. DeGrom is fully expected to be ready for spring training.
“I talked to Smoltz and Ron Darling texted,” deGrom said. “He had it in November and he was ready by spring training. Talking to Dr. Altchek, they said that it looked like it needed to be done and I should be fine.”
Next step is getting the stitches out and then he can begin physical therapy, which deGrom estimated should be in about two weeks.
“They said I could move it as much as I want. Feels good,” deGrom said. “I think once the stitches come out and then I think they said maybe two weeks I start doing stuff to strengthen in there.”
DeGrom (7-8, 3.04 ERA) last pitched Sept. 1 and felt discomfort in his arm. Doctors determined it was a nerve issue. One of the Mets’ many rotation casualties insisted it was not a season-long issue.
“It was more recent. I felt the kind of numbness in the fingers and I didn’t really think anything of it and it turned into kind of a pain in the elbow,” deGrom said. “All the MRIs and stuff came back and the ligament looked fine, so with my symptoms and talking to the doctors, they said the next thing is the nerve.”