Dillon Gee on Disabled List

The Mets announced on Twitter Wednesday afternoon that Dillon Gee has been placed on the disabled list and that Jacob deGrom will take his place in the rotation, making his major league debut Thursday against the Yankees.

Gee is suffering from a strained right lat. His DL stint is retroactive to May 11, the day after he was pulled from his start against the Phillies after just 81 pitches. Now we know why.

Along with Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee has been the best Mets starter this season, going 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA. Hopefully this will just be a bump in the road for a pitcher who finally looked like he was ready to establish himself as a reliable rotation piece.

DeGrom was brought up on Tuesday to pitch out of the bullpen, but now he will be in the rotation where he probably belongs, anyway. DeGrom has had 58 appearances in the minors, all of them as a starter.

This also delays a decision on whom to release or send down to the minors. With Rafael Montero due to be activated to make his major league debut tonight, the Mets needed to make room for him. Gee’s injury takes care of that, but when Gee returns, it is likely that unless someone else gets hurts or flops, Jose Valverde will get the boot.