Jacob deGrom Has Hyperextended Elbow

Jacob deGrom was pulled from Wednesday night’s game with what turned out to be a hyperextended elbow. He is expected to miss an undetermined amount of time.

deGrom was cruising at the time, throwing four shutout innings while striking out six Braves and allowing just two hits. But then something went terribly, terribly wrong.

Jacob deGrom is by far the Mets most effective starter this season, pitching to a 1.87 ERA with a 3-0 record and 54 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

So who fills in for deGrom? Well, Matt Harvey is an obvious choice, but has he figured out his problems after just three relief outings, allowing runs in two of those appearances? Then there is Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo. But do the Mets want to mess with their bullpen success? Either of them might be a better option than an untested Cory Oswalt.

Whoever replaces Jacob deGrom will not be as good as Jacob deGrom. So this will hurt the Mets both in the short and long term. Now is the time for the rest of the starters to step up, especially Jason Vargas. This is why he was brought in; time for him to earn his considerable salary.