‘Frustrated’ Jacob deGrom goes on IL in major Mets concern

PITTSBURGH — Jacob deGrom won’t be pitching this week, which left the Mets with little choice Sunday other than to place him on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 15.

“I’m frustrated,” deGrom said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

It’s the second IL stint of the season for deGrom, who said he felt the tightness before leaving for the All-Star break but believed the discomfort would subside. He attempted to throw a bullpen session at PNC Park upon his return from the break — in anticipation of starting Sunday — but ended the workout quickly when the tightness persisted.

DeGrom, who leads the major leagues with a 1.08 ERA, last pitched on July 7. The Mets didn’t immediately announce a corresponding roster move for deGrom’s deactivation.

The right-hander has sustained various ailments this season that have forced him to skip or curtail starts, but said he believes none of them are connected and says the previous injuries all occurred swinging the bat. The list of previous ailments include lat and side discomfort, flexor tendinitis and shoulder discomfort. DeGrom has undergone MRI exams throughout that have failed to show any structural damage. DeGrom said he alerted pitching coach Jeremy Hefner before and during the All-Star break about the tightness, but thought he would feel better upon returning. When he didn’t, he received his latest MRI exam.

“It’s always good news when structurally everything looks good, but you go out there and try to throw a baseball and my forearm just doesn’t feel good,” deGrom said. “The level of frustration right now is very high.”

He was asked if he considered trying to pitch through the discomfort.

“That was kind of the discussion,” deGrom said. “There’s a lot of times you take the mound and you don’t feel that good. But this one, whenever I go to release the baseball there was some pain in there. It’s more down the forearm, so it’s not really as concerning as if it was in the elbow — and the elbow checks out clean. … The plan is to let [the forearm] resolve and pick up from there.

“Could I have pitched? Maybe I could have, but it’s looking at whether it’s worth going out there. As a pitcher you go out there and you don’t feel great sometimes. How this one was feeling it wasn’t worth risking going out there … would it be smart? Probably not.”

DeGrom joins a cast of Mets starting pitchers on the IL that includes Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi. Already stretched thin, the Mets will have Jerad Eickhoff start Monday’s game in Cincinnati. No starter has yet been named for Tuesday’s game.