deGrom graduated high school from Calvary Christian Academy in Ormond Beach, Florida. Then headed off to Stetson University in DeLand, Florida on a baseball scholarship. deGrom started as a shortstop at Stetson University and didn’t transition to the mound until his junior year.

In 2010, deGrom got drafted by the Mets (see Transactions below).

In 2013,  deGrom was pitching for the Mets—the St. Lucie Mets, that is. But in 2014, he was in the big league club's starting rotation. When asked about his quick ascension to the Major Leagues, deGrom rattled off a few factors.

"Coming off of Tommy John, the rehab, I worked hard to get back to where I needed to be and had a good staff down there helping me out," deGrom said. "I think just learning more about pitching as I went up each level—that helped a lot," deGrom said, adding that his pitching coaches along the Minor League ladder were particularly helpful.

The lanky righthander doesn't let the spotlight of the Big Apple affect his performance.

"I try not to let that get to me," deGrom said in July 2014. "It's the same game—just at a different level. They're a lot better up here. I just go out there every time and try to locate, keep the ball down, and try to get quick outs. I try not to let the surroundings get to me. I keep a level head and keep the same approach."

The ninth-round draft pick had never been a heralded prospect, and he wasn't even a pitcher until his junior year at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. He played shortstop for the Hatters during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

"My junior year I was going to just close, and then they asked if I wouldn't mind starting," he said. "It was probably a third of the way, or halfway through the season, and I said that was fine, so that's really how it happened."

Jake says the key to his success was keeping runners off base.

"[My start on July 2], only the first inning hurt me," deGrom said. "I walked two guys, gave up a base hit, walked the next two guys, and with two outs gave up a hit. I think just not walking people and trying to keep them off the bases helped me out for the start that I just had."

Not bad for a guy who didn't even get on the mound until his junior year of college. (Stephen Jacobson - MLB.com - 7/12/2014)

deGrom was married to his wife, Stacey, on Nov. 8, 2014.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

For the 2014 season:

–deGrom was named the NL Rookie of the Year by Sporting News magazine.

–The Major League Baseball Players Association named deGrom its NL Outstanding Rookie, an award voted upon by fellow players.

–Jake was named the NL Rookie Player of the Year via the Player's Choice Awards.

–deGrom was named the NL Rookie of the Year, beating out the Reds CF Billy Hamilton and the Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong.

deGrom worked during the 2012–2013 offseason on his neighbor's livestock ranch, when he broke his finger while castrating a calf. It was two days before he was to report to spring training.

"I never picked anything in the minor leagues. I would always just tell them, 'Play whatever.' But then I didn't really like the song they were playing when I got called up. So I just decided to change to 'Simple Man.' I like slower music like that. It kind of calms me down, I guess. I don't want to get too amped up going into the first inning," deGrom said.

For deGrom, the real reason to keep rockin' those luscious locks is that they apparently help him fool hitters. According to Bob Klapisch of NorthJersey.com, at least one hitter admitted that the hair was distracting:

This comes from someone who faced deGrom in the postseason last year, and admitted those flowing locks were a problem. Big problem.

"First of all, I see this guy on the mound who looks like a stick figure," the hitter said. "I mean, you don't see Major League pitchers who look like that. And he's got that hair—you can't not look at it, it's everywhere. It bothers me when I'm trying to pick up the ball out of his hand. All I see is hair."

This came as news to deGrom, who previously vowed to chop that hair clean off before the start of the season:

I mentioned that scouting report to deGrom, who laughed and said, "That's pretty cool." I then asked if he'd ever heard about his hair interfering with hitters' concentration and he shook his head.

"Not really, I don't talk to hitters much," deGrom said. "But I guess now I'll never cut it." (Mike Bertha - Cut4 - March 2016) (Editor's note: Jake did, in fact, cut his hair before the 2018 season. Then he went out and won the Cy Young.)

Jaxon Anthony deGrom was born at 9:23 p.m. ET on April 11, 2016, the newest addition to a happy family. For some time, Jacob had been looking forward to his son's birth.

April 16, 2016: Jacob went on the bereavement/medical emergency list due to complications regarding his newborn son.  April 17, 2016: The outlook for Jacob deGrom's newborn baby has improved, Mets manager Terry Collins said in a piece of "tremendous news" for deGrom and his family. The couple hopes to take baby Jaxon home from the hospital as soon as April 18.  "The baby is doing better," Collins said. "So that was a good sign. I just told Jake he needs to get some rest and a meal."  

The waiting was the difficult part. The waiting, not knowing. Like any new parents, Jacob and Stacey deGrom stayed up deep into the night caring for him. It was not until early the next morning that the deGroms realized something was wrong with Jaxon, when Stacey's sister, a respiratory therapist, noticed the child's skin turning blue.  Trained to spot this type of condition, Stacey's sister woke the baby up and his normal color returned.

The deGroms spent most of that early morning fretting over Jaxon, monitoring him, making sure nothing happened again. But it did keep happening, every time Jaxon slept. By around 6:30 a.m., exhausted, the parents relented to placing the new baby in the hospital's Natal Intensive Care Unit, where nurses could monitor him full-time. Thus began the waiting.

"It definitely scared us," deGrom said, opening up weeks later about the frightening time in his life. "You don't really know what's going on. You're waiting 24 hours for one test and 48 for another test, and the whole time you're just thinking, 'Oh, please, let nothing serious be wrong.'"

Under any circumstances, deGrom's first Father's Day as a dad would be an apt time for him to reflect and give thanks for the birth of his son. Jaxon's apnea condition, and the fear and confusion that engulfed deGrom at the time, only makes Stacey and him appreciate their growing family ever more.

In the days that followed Jaxon's entry into the NICU, deGrom spent sleepless nights on a hospital bed. "Especially for somebody who's 6-foot-4, you don't really fit on them too well," he laughed. They did everything he could to soften a situation out of his control. Also rehabbing a minor lat injury at the time, deGrom left his home in DeLand, Fla., several times per week around 7:00 a.m. to make a two-hour drive down to Port St. Lucie. There, he would throw bullpen sessions in front of Mets staffers, climb back into his car, and return to Stacey and Jaxon. It took five consecutive issue-free days for doctors to release Jaxon from the hospital.

"It was nice to have my family there," deGrom said. "Stacey did an unbelievable job. She was probably better together than I was through the whole thing."  

Now more than two months old, Jaxon is the one commuting regularly, from Florida to New York City. When the Mets are on a long road trip, Stacey and Jaxon travel to DeLand, where family members can help care for the baby. When the Mets are home, the growing family, including a puppy named Pixie, reunites in New York.

Jaxon has begun making noises at all hours, thrilling the deGroms with his development. Jake took a cell phone video of Jaxon floating in a pool, thrashing his legs, smiling the whole time. He smiles a lot these days.

"I think it really puts things in perspective," deGrom said. "No matter how good or bad you do on the field, you go home and you've got a baby there. Especially from what I've heard when they get older, it doesn't matter how you do, they're there and they're happy to see you. We play this game for fun. Just on the bad days, it makes it that much better to go home and see your child there."  (DiComo - MLB.com - 6/16/16)

June 18, 2017: deGrom hit his first Major League home run on Father's Day.

July 2018: deGrom was selected to play in the MLB All-Star game. deGrom was one strike away from collecting the second perfect inning of his All-Star career. Unfortunately, he needed to get that strike against Mike Trout.

Trout took the Mets ace deep in the third inning of the All-Star Game, though it turned out to be the only blemish on deGrom's outing.

deGrom took over for starter Max Scherzer with the National League trailing, 1-0. Facing the top of the AL's lineup, deGrom got Mookie Betts to fly out to center fielder Bryce Harper, then Jose Altuve hit a harmless popup to third baseman Nolan Arenado. Then came deGrom's biggest test: Trout, considered by most to be the game's best player.

"That's what it's about," deGrom said. "Going out there and playing against the best." deGrom got ahead of Trout, 1-2, but the Angels star drove a 92 mph sinker to left-center field, depositing it into the AL bullpen to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Jacob hit one home run in college, and it just happened to be off Chris Sale. In the top of the second inning during the opening game of the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship tournament, deGrom hit the first home run of his collegiate career over the right-field fence. Sale had just recently been named the league's Pitcher of the Year and was starting for the No. 1 seed, Florida Gulf Coast University. (Cut4-2018)

Midway through the 2018 season, deGrom let his frustration show. That day, the Mets ace had been let down yet again by the team around him, having another strong start spoiled. All he could do was watch as 2018 slipped out of the club’s grip, just like 2017 had.

“I’m tired of losing, to be honest,” deGrom said quietly but firmly. Quickly, however, the Mets best player put that in perspective. “Everybody else in here I’m sure is. That’s not what we want to do. We came here to win baseball games and we’re not doing that,” deGrom continued. “We have to find a way to do that.”

In 2018, the Mets never really did find a way to do that. It was another disappointing year for the Amazin’s, who won just 77 games. Every fifth day, however, deGrom gave Mets fans something to get excited about. His starts were something to look forward to in a dismal year of injuries and losing. He usually rewarded them with an outstanding personal performance, even if it was a brief respite before the reality of the poor defense, bad bullpen or impotent lineup came back into focus.

Though he won just 10 of his 32 starts, and the Mets were just 14-18 when he took the mound, he was just one vote shy of being a unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young award. The first starter to win the award with just 10 wins, deGrom’s season has changed the way that people judge successful pitching.

His year was really the only reason for Mets fans to head out to Flushing in 2018. He was a ninth-round pick out of Stetson University in 2010 whom the Mets landed with a $95,000 signing bonus (compared to $2.5 million for first-rounder Matt Harvey). After a historic season, he is also the Daily News’ Sports Person of the Year. Among the Daily News sports staff, deGrom was the unanimous choice.

And it didn’t take advanced analytics to see how dominant deGrom was this season. He finished off his 2018 season with 24 straight quality starts and 29 consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer. Both are MLB records. (New York Daily News - Dec 29, 2018)

In 2018, deGrom had the highest current WAR (25.7) of any Mets player.

Feb 12, 2019: If the Mets intend to offer Jacob deGrom a contract extension, they'll need to do it soon. deGrom's representatives have set an Opening Day deadline to complete an extension, giving the sides six more weeks to work something out. deGrom has let the Mets know that he won't negotiate during the season, though it's possible he and the team could reopen talks next winter. When asked about deGrom's deadline, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen initially declined comment, before holding an impromptu press conference to describe Opening Day as a logical end point for talks.

"There's no reason for a distraction to carry into the regular season, and we will continue to have dialogue over the course of this spring, and see where these discussions lead," Van Wagenen said. "I think it's in everyone's best interest, so that the focus once the season starts is on the performance of the team. I think everybody feels like we've got a chance to play meaningful games right out of the gate, and we don't want to have anything stand in the way."

Entering 2019, deGrom has two years remaining under team control. He is making $17 million this season and would be due another raise in 2020. For much of the past year, deGrom has expressed his desire to a sign a long-term deal, though he began acknowledging toward the end of last season that it might not happen. If the Mets wait until next winter, deGrom will be a year from free agency, theoretically giving him less incentive to eschew the open market in favor of an in-house deal.

"I think anybody is open to an extension if it's right for you and your family," deGrom said. "Nothing is guaranteed in this game until you sign that deal, or hit free agency and sign a deal there. You just have to sit down and, at the end of the day, look at what's right for you and your family and kind of make a decision based upon that. I really do enjoy playing in New York. The fans have treated me great. I enjoy taking the mound at Citi Field in front of them and it's rare that a guy spends his career with one team. If that was something that they wanted to do, and me and [my wife] Stacey felt like it was the right move for us, then we'd be willing to definitely explore that."

Since deGrom made those comments, he has personally had no contact with the Mets regarding a contract extension. His former agent, Van Wagenen, is now the Mets' GM, and deGrom's current representatives at CAA, Jeff Berry and Matt Ricatto, met with Mets officials at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas to gauge interest in a deal. Van Wagenen said the sides have since been in communication, though a source cautioned that talks have not grown serious.

"Jacob, as I've said many times before, we care about him," Van Wagenen said. "He knows we care about him. We know how important he is to the organization. And I think it will be my job to make sure there's no strained relationship no matter what takes place as we continue to move forward." (A DiComo - MLB.com - Feb 13, 2019)

April 3, 2019: deGrom had himself a day against the Marlins. First, he hit a solo home run in the third inning off of Trevor Richards, pushing the lead to 2-0. On the pitching side, deGrom set a new career-high with 14 strikeouts. deGrom had registered 13 strikeouts in a game four times, including twice last year.

In 2019, Jacob deGrom won the NL Pitcher Players Choice Award. DeGrom followed up a historic 2018 season with another and finished the year 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA, an NL-leading 255 strikeouts and a career-high 11.3 K/9. It's the third consecutive season deGrom has finished with 239 or more strikeouts.

CONSECUTIVE CY YOUNG AWARDS

Nov 13, 2019: The Baseball Writers’ Association of America made the Mets righthander the 11th pitcher in Major League history to win consecutive Cy Young Awards. For the second straight year, deGrom received 29 of a possible 30 first-place votes in the National League, this time toppling runner-up Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers, who received the other first-place vote.

“Words can’t express it,” deGrom said, learning of his victory from his home in Deland, Florida. “I said it was a dream to win one, but to win back-to-back, honestly, I’m kind of speechless right now.”

Unlike 2018, deGrom endured a rocky beginning to his 2019 season, posting a 4.85 ERA in April while losing his last three starts of the month and, in his mind, focusing a bit too much on the idea of improving upon his Cy Young season. Then, he relaxed. Everything clicked. From May 1 forward, deGrom was the NL’s best pitcher, going 9-5 with a 2.07 ERA over his last 27 starts.

“I feel like I was trying to better what I did in 2018,” said deGrom, who finished 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA, up more than half a run from the previous season. “And then, once I had those three starts that weren’t so good—that were terrible, actually—I kind of got back to my mindset of 2018. I didn’t let much bother me.”

As late in the season as early September, both Scherzer and Ryu still presented legitimate challenges in the Cy Young race. But while Scherzer battled injuries and Ryu struggled to stay consistent, deGrom finished the season with 23 consecutive scoreless innings. In his final four starts, he went 3-0 with 35 strikeouts, two walks and a 0.32 ERA. He led the NL with 255 strikeouts, trailing only Ryu in ERA.

“It’s something that when I first came up,” deGrom said, “if you had asked me that or told me that this was going to happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.”

With another Cy Young, deGrom enters rarified air in both the present-day game as well as Mets history. He became the third NL pitcher this decade to win consecutive Cy Young Awards, joining the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (2013-14) and Scherzer (2016-17). deGrom also became the 20th pitcher to win multiple Cy Youngs.

“I think that Jake is, from my vantage point, the best pitcher in baseball,” Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said at the General Managers Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. “I think that Jake is steady, and he’s consistent with his mindset. I don’t think at any point that I had concern that Jake would be able to rebound [from] a couple of unsteady starts and return to Cy Young form.”

In New York, deGrom further cemented his status as one of the four most accomplished pitchers in franchise lore, alongside Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and Jerry Koosman. Seaver already has his number retired at Citi Field; Koosman will join him next summer, while Gooden could in the years to come. (A DiComo - MLB.com - Nov 13, 2019)

Nov. 10, 2019: Baseball had never before had an official star squad that salutes a full season's worth of work the way other major professional sports do. But the results of the voting for the first All-MLB Team finally arrived at the Winter Meetings. The Mets deGrom was named to the first team starting pitching group.

2019 Season: deGrom easily won the NL Cy Young and became the 11th pitcher to capture it in consecutive seasons. In 2018, deGrom had just 10 wins, and the Mets went 14-18 in his starts—the fewest wins by any starting pitcher to win the Cy Young, and the lowest team winning percentage in a Cy Young Award winner’s starts.

His 2019 numbers? An identical 14-18 Mets record when he started, and 11 individual wins.

In other words, deGrom now owns the top two spots on the list for fewest wins by a starter in a Cy Young Award-winning season and lowest team winning percentage in a Cy Young Award winner’s starts. deGrom didn’t match his 1.70 ERA from 2018, but he had a 2.07 ERA over his final 27 starts of 2019, allowing just a .199 opponents' average in that span. He finished the season on a 23-inning scoreless streak.

Since the start of 2018, he’s made 47 starts in which he allowed two or fewer runs, most among traditional starters in that span.

Fun fact about Chris Sale: He went to Florida Gulf Coast University and deGrom went to rival Stetson University (also in Florida). deGrom was both a shortstop and pitcher there. He hit one homer in his NCAA career, and that came off Chris Sale. Pretty cool.

2021 Opening Day:  DeGrom became the third pitcher in Mets history to start Opening Day three years in a row. He joins Tom Seaver (10 in a row) and Dwight Gooden (four in a row). 

deGrom shows a flair for . . . wrestling?  Where in the world did he learn this move?  Two days before he's set to face the Braves at Truist Park, deGrom was caught on MLB Network's Ballpark Cam in a wrestling takedown move with a Mets bullpen catcher in the outfield.

Like anything deGrom does these days, he dominated and pinned his overmatched teammate for a 2-count victory.  (mlb.com - 6/29/2021)

July 2021: deGrom was chosen to represent the Mets in the All-Star Game.

Jacob has kept a low-key persona, which suits him. He does not court the spotlight even as his talent thrusts him into it every five days. He warms up to the Lynard Skynard song, "Simple Man," an apt choice.

His former manager, Terry Collins said, "There's no doubt in my mind that when he goes home for the winter, he's just Jacob deGrom, neighbor. He's a genuinely good guy."

"He's a humble guy from Florida," said Omar Minaya, the Mets GM when deGrom was drafter out of Stetson in 2010. "He's easygoing. When he's on that mound, though? Woo, watch out. Just stand back and enjoy."

In a rare moment early in 2021 spring training, Jacob pulled back the curtain on is internal confidence. He acknowledged to ESPN that he wants to pitch into his 40s and that he wants to be an "inner-circle" Hall of Famer.

Much of his college was spent as a shortstop and so he doesn't have the same wear and tear on his arm that some pitchers his age do. He wasn't in the majors until he was nearly 26.

deGrom is "a freak athlete," pitcher Jeremy Blevins said. When Jake throws a football, "he throws that think like Michael Vick or John Elway. He's good at anything he does."

Under different circumstances, he could be competing for gold at the Olympics, perhaps throwing the javelin. (Anthony McCarron - SNY Network - July, 2021)

March 14, 2022: - Fully healthy following an offseason of rest, Mets ace Jacob deGrom said definitively that he intends to trigger the opt-out in his contract after the 2022 season.

The decision won’t necessarily affect deGrom’s ability to be a Met for life, as he said he plans to be “in constant contact” with team officials after the season. Still, it at least opens the possibility that deGrom could pitch somewhere other than Queens in 2023 and beyond.

“That’s the business side of baseball,” deGrom said. “As a player, you build in opt-outs, and that’s the business side. But for me, I don’t want that to be any distraction. I’m excited about this team. I’ve said it before, I love being a Met. I think it would be really cool to be one for my entire career, but the plan is to exercise that [opt-out].”

deGrom hasn’t pitched at all since last July 7, when a bout of elbow inflammation sidelined him through the remainder of the year. He threw off a bullpen mound several times in September, however, and said at the time that he could have returned to game action had the Mets been in contention. A DiComo - MLB.com - March 14, 2022)

Aug. 31, 2022: Speaking of deGrom, Betts said, “He’s pretty much the best, maybe the best to ever pitch,” Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said. “I don’t think anybody does (compare). I think the stats kind of say that as well.”

Sept. 2022: deGrom chose to play for team USA in the 2023 WBC.

Dec 2, 2022: A DeLand, Fla., native, deGrom was a college shortstop at Stetson University, where he once homered off future All-Star pitcher Chris Sale. He converted to pitching late in his collegiate career, eventually doing enough to become the Mets’ ninth-round Draft pick in 2010.

As a prospect, deGrom struggled through injuries, including Tommy John surgery, before debuting in 2014. The right-hander went on to win NL Rookie of the Year honors and make his first All-Star team the following summer, joining Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz in a dynamic young rotation that led the Mets as far as the 2015 pennant.

deGrom still makes his offseason home in DeLand, where he plays regular games of catch in the offseason with his father, Tony.

Now, deGrom figures to lead a rotation that currently includes Jon Gray, Martín Pérez and Jake Odorizzi, in addition to one of Dane Dunning, Glenn Otto and Cole Ragans. Texas also has a top farm system, led by MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects Jack Leiter (No. 45 overall, Rangers No. 2) and Owen White (No. 59, No. 4) and Rangers’ Top 30 Prospects Brock Porter (No. 6) and Kumar Rocker (No. 8) on the pitching side. 

“I think we’re excited about the rotation [as it stands currently],” Rangers GM Chris Young said. “I think what we have at the top of the rotation—Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Martín Pérez, Jake Odorizzi, falling behind, and then, you know, options in terms of some of our young guys.

"We have really solid pitching in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. I think that we're going to continue to look to explore ways to improve. We're going to continue to be aggressive and diligent to make sure we put the best team out on the field for the 2023 season and beyond.” (A DiComo & K Landry - MLB.com - Dec 2, 2022)

March 24, 2023: DeGrom will make his fourth career Opening Day start on March 30 against the Phillies and his first with the Rangers, manager Bruce Bochy announced, 

Back in the spring, before his right elbow at last betrayed him, before all those questions about his fragility were answered, Jacob deGrom set the stakes of the last act of his career as a pitcher for the Texas Rangers. He wanted to reach the Hall of Fame.

“That’s the ultimate goal,” deGrom told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, “to be recognized as one of the best players to play the game.”

That goal appears improbable, in the wake of the news on Tuesday afternoon about deGrom’s need for elbow surgery. He will turn 36 next year. He has already undergone one Tommy John surgery. He has not made more than 15 starts in a season since 2019. The prospect of an invitation to Cooperstown appears remote.

But deGrom was wrong if he figured his only path toward immortality within the memory of baseball fans requires the approval of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He will be remembered as one of the best to ever cradle a baseball. He will be remembered as this era’s analogue to Tim Lincecum, another lithe hurler who, like deGrom, threw with such beautiful violence. If you saw them at their peak, you never forgot it.

Both deGrom and Lincecum did things that, to the untrained eye, seemed unsustainable. A human body that slender, a frame that slight — it should not be able to produce velocity like that. After a while, they proved the skeptics right. But the joy was in the journey, rather than the inevitability of the result.
DeGrom conducted a slower burn. He did not jet through the minors, as Lincecum did. He underwent Tommy John surgery a few months after the Mets drafted him in 2010. He reached the majors four years later. He was a good, not great, pitcher for several more seasons before leveling up in 2018. That season he collected the first of his two Cy Young awards, throwing harder than ever as he turned 30. His fastball averaged 93.5 mph as a rookie. By 2021, he was sitting at 99.3 mph and regularly touching triple digits. But his starts kept getting shorter, his stints on the injured list growing longer. The list of his various maladies looked like a grocery bill.
So, no, deGrom is unlikely to be enshrined in Cooperstown alongside contemporaries like Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. There is no shame in that. He did not reinvent himself as he grew older. He pushed the speedometer to the brink until the engine combusted. It made for a hell of a show. You remember the name Icarus, don’t you?
He may never reach the Hall of Fame. No one knows what deGrom will pitch like whenever he returns. But what he did before his arm gave out won’t be forgotten. (Mc Cullough - Jun 6, 2023 - The Athletic)

TRANSACTIONS

June 2010: The Mets chose Jake in the 9th round, out of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, signing him via scout Marlin McPhail for $95,000. 

March 4, 2016: The Mets renewed DeGrom's contract for one year for $607, 000. DeGrom became the first Met in more than a half a decade to receive a pre-arbitration renewal. 

Jan 14, 2017: Jake avoided arbitration by signing a one-year deal worth $4 million and performance bonuses with the Mets.

Jan 12, 2018: Jake and the Mets avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $7.2 million.

Jan 11, 2019: Jake and the Mets avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $17 million. His $9.6 million raise eclipsed the record raise ($9.5 million) that Mookie Betts had received just a couple of hours earlier.

March 26, 2019: The Mets rewarded Jacob with one of the richest contracts in franchise history: a five-year, $137 million pact. The deal replaces deGrom’s current contract and includes a $32 million club option for 2024 that could bring the total value to $170 million. Plus an opt-out for the player after 2022 and a full no-trade clause. 

March 14, 2022: Fully healthy following an offseason of rest, Mets ace Jacob deGrom said definitively that he intends to trigger the opt-out in his contract after the 2022 season. (A diComo - MLB.com - March 14, 2022)

Nov 7, 2022: Jacob chose free agency.

DeGrom has a lively 93-98 mph four-seam FASTBALL, a 91-96 mph two-seam sinker, an 88-91 mph SLIDER that flashes plus lateral break/tilt. He also has an 81-83 mph CURVEBALL and now has good feel for his 87-89 mph straight CHANGEUP, giving him a good weapon vs. lefties.

"My changeup has gotten a lot better in the past year or so," he said. "It's become a pitch I can strike people out with, along with my slider. I just want to stay consistent, locate the ball and keep the ball down."

Like Matt Harvey, Jacob has a power slider. And he has a backdoor curve he uses vs. lefthanders. But everything keys on the command of his fastball. He is not going to blow you away with velocity. He has to pitch. (May, 2016)

2016 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 42.1% of the time; Sinker 17.5% of the time; Change 11.1%; Slider 18.5%; and Curve 9.5% of the time.

2017 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 38.6% of the time; Sinker 16.8% of the time; Change 12.2%; Slider 22.9%; and Curve 9.5% of the time.

2018 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 42.7% of the time, his Sinker 9.5%; Change 6.1%; Slider 23.9%; and Curveball 7.9% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 96.7 mph, Sinker 96.1, Change 89.6, Slider 91.7, and Curve 83.2 mph.

2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 48.8% of the time, his Sinker less than 1%; Change 15.9%; Slider 31.9%; and Curveball 3% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 97.2 mph, Sinker 97.2, Change 90.6, Slider 92.8, and Curve 84.5 mph.

2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 44.9% of the time, his Change 16.9%; Slider 35.6%; and Curveball 2.6% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 99 mph, Change 91.8, Slider 92.9, and Curve 84.3 mph.

2022 Season Pitch Usage.Avg, Velo: Fastball 48% - 99 mph; Slider 39% - 92.6 mph; Change 8% - 92 mph; Curve 4.8% -83.4 mph.

Jake throws strikes from a clean delivery and a downhill angle.

DeGrom is fairly new to pitching. He was a shortstop as a freshman and sophomore at Stetson University in Florida. He became a pitcher as a junior, first as a closer before working his way into the rotation.

You have to love his competitiveness when he is on the mound.

July 9, 2019: Jacob tossed a perfect third inning at the All-Star Game on just seven pitches. Fellow Mets All-Star Jeff McNeil said, “just deGrom stuff.”  (Mayo - mlb.com)

DeGrom's ease of movement trumps brute force. Jacob is blessed with a long stride, which shortens the distance his pitches have to cover, but he also has a forward release point. The ball leaves most pitcher's fingers when the throwing hand is about even with the head.

With DeGrom, the hand travels a bit farther forward before the ball comes out. Pedro Martinez was blessed with this same late release, which fools a hitter's usual timing mechanism.

And that is why teammates regard a simple game of catch with deGrom as a challenge. (2015)

Sept. 15, 2014: deGrom tied a modern-day Major League record with eight straight strikeouts to start a game.

In his first All-Star Game in 2015, deGrom became the first on record in All-Star Game history to set down three batters in so few pitches (10). He surpassed Brad Lidge's 11-pitch effort in 2005.

As a relatively unheralded prospect, one of the most common concerns regarding Jacob was his body type. Tall and lanky, deGrom did not look like a pitcher capable of throwing hundreds of innings, month after month, year after year. A Tommy John surgery at an early age seemed to vindicate that line of thinking. Even once he became a successful big leaguer, deGrom never quite managed to throw 200 innings.

That number may be arbitrary, but it is the generally accepted marker of a durable ace. In 2017, for the first time, deGrom blew past it, pitching six innings in a 3-2 loss to the Nationals to reach 201 on the season.

"It's definitely big for me," deGrom said. "We've got plans to hopefully go to the World Series next year, and that's something I wanted to get to, to know what it's like to pitch that many innings in a year."

Technically, deGrom has thrown over 200 innings in a calendar year before, compiling 216 between the regular season and playoffs in 2015. But only 191 of those came during the regular season, in part because the Mets treated him gingerly around the All-Star break. A year later, deGrom missed most of September after undergoing minor elbow surgery.  (DiComo - mlb.com - 9/25/17)

August 18, 2018: Jacob finished the game with 9 strikeouts, totaling 204 strikeouts on the season; deGrom eclipsed 200 for the third time in his career. The only other Mets pitchers to achieve that were Tom Seaver (nine times), Dwight Gooden (four times) and David Cone (four times).

September 3, 2018: Baseball's modern standard for pitching excellence has long been Dwight Gooden's 1985 season. That year, Gooden strung together 24 consecutive starts of three or fewer runs, finishing with a 1.53 ERA—MLB's lowest since the mound was set at its current height in 1969.

Thirty-three years later, another Met has entered Gooden's airspace. In allowing one run over six innings in the Mets' 4-2 win over the Dodgers, Jacob delivered his 25th consecutive start of three or fewer runs to break Gooden's single-season record. The outing lowered deGrom's ERA by five one-thousandths of a run, holding its significant decimal places steady at 1.68.

September 11, 2018: deGrom submitted his 26th consecutive start of three or fewer runs, breaking Leslie "King" Cole's 108-year-old Major League record.

September 26, 2018: deGrom finished the season with 1,000 strikeouts.

In 2018, Baseball Digest cited deGrom as its Pitcher of the Year in part due to his run as the only pitcher in the modern era to have a season with at least 260 strikeouts, 50 walks or fewer, 10 home runs allowed or fewer and a sub-2.00 ERA. He also had a streak of 24 straight quality starts, which is the longest such streak in MLB history.  

In 2018, deGrom won the National League Cy Young Award. He had 29 of 30 first-place votes despite a lower win total than any previous starter to win in a non-strike season.

In 2018, deGrom's fastball was voted one of the nastiest fastballs in baseball by MLB players.

Before the season, deGrom promised that his new short haircut would lead to an increase in velocity, and, sure enough, he was right. It went from an average of 95.2 mph to 96 mph. And the spin deGrom gets on the pitch (a 2,362 rpm average in 2018) makes it all the more unhittable.

"It's something that you don't see with guys, that illusion of rising," his Mets teammate Michael Conforto said. "Not a lot of guys can do that, and he's throwing [up to] 99 mph."

One-third of plate appearances that ended on deGrom's fastball were strikeouts. (Anthony Castrovince- MLB.com-Jan. 7, 2019)

March 28, 2019: Jacob came out of his first Opening Day Start versus the Nationals after six shutout innings of five-hit, 10-strike out baseball, which earned him his first win of the season. Going back to last season, he's now made 30 consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer—a new record for the longest such streak in Major League history.

March 28, 2019: The Opening Day duel between Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom more than lived up to the hype. In fact, they made Opening Day history. Both aces reached double-digit strikeouts at Nationals Park in the Mets' season-opening 2-0 win over the Nationals. Scherzer, making his fourth Opening Day start in five seasons with Washington, struck out 12; deGrom, in his first career Opening Day start, struck out 10. It's just the second Opening Day game in which both starting pitchers had at least 10 strikeouts.

The other was nearly 50 years ago, on April 7, 1970. The Orioles' Dave McNally and the Indians' Sam McDowell both reached the mark, with McNally striking out 13 in a complete-game win over the Tribe and McDowell, who struck out 11 in his 6 1/3 innings." Those are games that are fun," deGrom said. "You know every pitch matters."

Also, over seven innings against the Marlins, deGrom fanned a career-high 14

April 9, 2019: Twins ended deGrom’s quality starts streak at 26. So he and Bob Gibson are tied for the record.

Aug 23, 2019: deGrom struck out his 200th hitter for the fourth time in five years. He also struck out eight in a row from the 3rd through the 6th inning en route to a 13-strikeout evening. 

If that seems rote, it’s because he’s done this sort of thing before. It marked another signature performance for deGrom, who homered on a night when he struck out at least 13 batters for the second time this season, becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to accomplish that feat.

In 2019, deGrom won his second straight NL Cy Young Award.

Feb 12, 2020: At the All-Star Game last summer in Cleveland, Pedro Martinez approached deGrom with a piece of advice. deGrom, Martinez noticed, seemed more frustrated than usual on the mound. He advised the younger pitcher to calm down, relax, have some fun out there.

Six months later, deGrom crossed paths with Martinez again, this time at the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s annual awards dinner in New York City. As one of only 11 pitchers in Major League history to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards, Martinez was there to present the plaque to the latest member of that club: deGrom. The two got to chatting.

“It was funny, because when I saw him, I actually thanked him,” deGrom said. “I do feel like [that talk] helped. I try to learn from whoever I can.”

“That’s how he is,” manager Luis Rojas said. “That’s why he’s so good.” (A DiComo - MLB.com - Feb 12, 2020)

April 13, 2020: Every thought deGrom has had during the pandemic, as more and more weeks tick by without games, deGrom understands he is losing a chunk of his prime that he can never reclaim. Entering this year as the two-time NL Cy Young winner, deGrom had delivered six Major League seasons on something approximating a Hall of Fame arc: a 2.62 ERA with 1,255 strikeouts in 1,102 innings.

The past two years, deGrom produced a 2.05 ERA with 524 strikeouts, cementing himself as one of this generation’s finest pitchers. But he began his Major League career relatively late, just shy of his 26th birthday, in part because of Tommy John surgery as a prospect. As a result, deGrom needs to make the most of his prime to have a chance at Cooperstown—and he knows it.

“You’re only good for so long,” deGrom said. “And I felt really good this spring, so that definitely crossed my mind. I guess now, I’ve just got try to stay good for a few more years.”

It’s not where deGrom wants to be, in the middle of his prime, with a pair of Cy Young Awards to defend. It’s just where he is for now.

“We miss the game as much as the biggest fans,” deGrom said. “That’s why we play this. We want to be out there competing in front of the fans. That’s what we do this for. I just hope that everybody stays safe, and hopefully things get back to normal and we’re back out there doing what we love, and competing in front of the best fans in baseball.” (A DiComo - MLB.com - April 13, 2020)

Aug 8, 2020: Baseball’s best pitcher is adding several mph to his fastball as he ages into his 30s. And this isn’t a new thing for deGrom; his velocity has climbed steadily for five years running now. deGrom’s average fastball velocity, by year:

2016: 93.9 mph (38th of 142 SP, min. 750 fastballs) 

2017: 95.1 mph (16th of 140) 

2018: 95.8 mph (6th of 132) 

2019: 96.9 mph (3rd of 128) 

2020: 98.7 mph (1st of 155, min. 25)

Put another way, a much higher share of the 32-year-old deGrom's fastballs are now straight gas; nearly every heater he throws is coming in at 98 mph or faster, whereas he rarely hit 98 in a game just three years ago.

“This coronavirus break, I actually feel like it’s coming out with less effort than in years past,” deGrom told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “I think just with that time off, I continued to work on my delivery, and feel like everything’s kind of in line where I want it to be.” (A DiComo - MLB.com - Aug 8, 2020)

Nov 11, 2020: deGrom’s quest for a third consecutive Cy Young officially came to an end, when he finished third in the balloting, behind winner Trevor Bauer and Yu Darvish.

Had deGrom won, he would have joined Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers in history to win three consecutive Cy Young Awards. Instead, he remains one of 11 to win two in a row.

Dec 9, 2020: Jacob may not have won a third consecutive Cy Young in 2020, but he took home plenty of accolades following another strong season. For the second straight year, deGrom was named to Major League Baseball’s All-MLB First Team, along with four other starting pitchers.

In a short season marred by multiple minor injuries, deGrom still managed a 2.38 ERA with an NL-leading 104 strikeouts. His strikeout rate of 13.8 per nine innings was also tops in the NL. But the small sample size of the 60-game slate hurt a pitcher accustomed to pulling away from the Cy Young pack in September.

 Still, deGrom made his second consecutive All-MLB First Team. (A DiComo - MLB.com - Dec 9, 2020)

April 10, 2021: deGrom struck out a career-high-tying 14 batters in 8 innings.

May 31, 2021: deGrom went on to retire the first 13 batters of the game before allowing a one-out single to Carson Kelly in the fifth. Over the first four innings, deGrom threw 10 pitches of 101-plus mph. In the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), no starting pitcher has thrown more in a single game. Two had previously thrown 10—the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard (April 18, 2016) and the Royals’ Yordano Ventura (Oct. 3, 2014).

“What we're watching is definitely something special. In my mind, he's in a league of his own,” Arizona starting pitcher Merrill Kelly said. “The fact that he has the stuff that he has and can command it the way that he does, I think, is probably what sets him apart the most. You know, there's a lot of guys in this league that throw 90-100 mph, but he pitches with it, and it's relentless, and it's every single pitch." (J Rill - MLB.com - June 1, 2021)

June 6, 2021: Jacob deGrom has an 0.62 ERA through 9 starts this season. That’s the lowest ERA by any pitcher through his 1st 9 starts of a season since ERA became official in both leagues in 1913 (min 40 IP).

June 21, 2021: This is the first day of MLB's new foreign substance enforcement protocols. MLB is cracking down on the widespread use of sticky stuff, and as part of the new protocols, starting pitchers will be checked for foreign substances at least once per game. Relievers will be checked at the end of the inning or when they exit the game, and there will be random checks throughout.

deGrom became the first pitcher to be inspected for foreign substances as part of the new enforcement protocols. The umpires were not picking on him, it was simple scheduling. He was the first pitcher to pitch that day. And his glove, hat, and belt were checked as he came off the mound following a 1-2-3 first inning. (Mike Axisa - CBS)  

deGrom set a new MLB Record: 12 Consecutive Starts With One Or Zero Earned Runs (ERA: 0.50).

June 25, 2021: This day marked the second time in deGrom's career that he's thrown exactly 31 consecutive scoreless frames, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He once again fell just shy of R.A. Dickey's Mets-record streak of 32 2/3 innings, set in 2012.

June 2021: deGrom was named the Pitcher of the Month. It’s the second time deGrom has won the NL Pitcher of the Month Award this season. He was April’s honoree as well. Prior to 2021, the righty had never been Pitcher of the Month.

The two runs the Phillies pushed across against deGrom on June 26 were the only runs the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner allowed all month. Over five starts, he posted a 0.67 ERA with 40 strikeouts and four walks in 27 innings, and the Mets won all five games. (T Harrigan - MLB.com - July 2, 2021)

The Mets ace allowed just two runs over seven innings while striking out 10, the most notable coming in the fourth inning on a 100 mph heater to Willy Adames, marking the 1,500th strikeout of deGrom’s career.

The punchout, the second of three in that inning, made deGrom the second-fastest pitcher to reach that milestone in MLB history, behind only Yu Darvish, who did it in one fewer start. (Ryan Chichester)

2021 Season: deGrom was well on his way to having a truly historic season before hitting the injured list in July. And, prior to “struggling” to a 3.21 ERA over his final 14 innings, his first 78 frames led to a ridiculous 0.69 ERA.  (Matt Musico - October 11, 2021)

2022 Changes due to injury: According to Anthony DiComo, the Mets determined while reviewing video footage "that deGrom was jerking his arm back more violently as he brought the ball out of his glove this spring, resulting in undue stress on his shoulder while he separated his hands during his delivery."

Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said the club doesn't know for sure that action caused deGrom's injury, but the 33-year-old will look "to minimize the aggressive nature of his motion" whenever he is cleared to resume throwing,

2022 Season: Traditional Stats: 11 GS, 64.1 IP, 3.08 ERA, 0.746 WHIP, 5-4 W/L, 102 K, 8 BB

Advanced Stats: 126 ERA+, 42.7 K%, 3.4 BB%, 2.24 xERA 2.13 FIP, 2.43 xFIP

deGrom was hit by a spate of injuries that really derailed what looked to be historic years in both 2021 and 2022. The righty missed the entire second half of the 2021 season due to right elbow inflammation, and a stress reaction in his right shoulder kept the ace out until July this year.

After nearly 13 months on the shelf, deGrom’s return was sensational and well worth the wait as he quickly reminded the baseball world just how special he is. He pitched to a stellar 1.98 ERA in August as he appeared invincible at times on the mound, throwing filthy stuff and mowing through lineups as if he had never been away.

Granted, some of that invincibility did wear off as deGrom hit somewhat of a wall in September, with his ERA ballooning to 4.50. However, the righty still struck out 42.7% of the batters he faced, while he posted a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts with a 5-4 record. And, while he didn’t have some of his best stuff in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card series against the Padres, deGrom still limited a potent lineup to just two runs over six innings with eight strikeouts.

Overall, deGrom’s status as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball is without question, despite the fact that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for the past couple of years. Despite the recent injury troubles, the ace proved in 2022 just how elite an arm he possesses.  (Andrew Steele-Nov 2, 2022)

Jake's a hitter. In 2014, he went a very respectable 10-for-46 (.217).

In 2015, Jake received his Wilson Defensive Pitcher of the Year award.

DeGrom is one of 17 active big leaguers with at least 300 career defensive innings never to have committed an error. His flawless 2015 campaign earned him Wilson's award, which combined traditional defensive stats and advanced metrics. Among NL pitchers, only Zack Greinke racked up more Defensive Runs Saved.

"Jake's a great athlete," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Let's face it: This guy's a college shortstop, so he's got a good set of hands on him. When you put an extra infielder on that infield, so ground balls up the middle aren't just base hits. It changes the way you win games."  (DiComo - MLB.com - 5/3/16)

2010: deGrom had Tommy John surgery. And he missed the entire 2011 season too.

August 29, 2013: Jake went on the D.L. 

August 11-23, 2014: deGrom went on the D.L. with right rotator cuff tendinitis.

September 17, 2016: The Mets shut down deGrom for the season. He underwent surgery to repair the ulnar nerve in his right elbow.

May 3-13, 2018: Jacob was on the DL with hyperextended right elbow.

April 16-26, 2019: deGrom was on the IL for his "barking" right elbow.

July 15, 2020: An MRI taken on deGrom's back did not show “anything concerning,” according to a source, a day after deGrom left an intra-squad start early due to muscle tightness. deGrom is day to day, though it is not yet clear what sort of impact the episode could have on his readiness for Opening Day.

“Particularly talking about Jake, knowing that he has a history of back tightness … we’ll wait to see him, and then we’ll definitely take an approach with the performance staff [for] what we need to do,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said before learning the MRI results.

Aug 14, 2020: In Jacob’s words, it is “frustrating” to miss a start during a year in which, even if fully healthy, he will take the mound only nine or 10 times. But prudence takes priority, and so the Mets scratched deGrom from his scheduled start in Philadelphia due to a stiff neck.

Testing revealed no structural issues in deGrom’s neck, and he said that he could have pitched if absolutely necessary. Even in a short season, however, the Mets did not want to risk further injury. deGrom intends to throw a bullpen session. For now, he has avoided the injured list, meaning it’s possible he’ll miss only one start.

Sept 16, 2020: Call it a twinge, a pull, a cramp. Officially, the Mets called it a right hamstring spasm.

deGrom said he first began experiencing it before his start against the Blue Jays in Buffalo, N.Y, but he ignored the issue and it eventually disappeared. By the second inning, deGrom could no longer overlook the discomfort, which affected him as he pushed off his right leg. When he came off the mound, deGrom alerted Chicklo, who made the decision with Hefner and manager Luis Rojas to remove deGrom from the game.

May 10-25, 2021: The Mets placed deGrom on the 10-day IL with right side tightness.  An MRI administered on deGrom’s right side revealed no structural damage, after he left the game while warming up for the sixth inning due to what the Mets called “right side discomfort." 

TOUGH SUMMER IN 2021

 June 11, 2021: The Mets announced after their game against the Padres that deGrom had departed due to right flexor tendinitis.  

June 14, 2021: DeGrom exited his last start after only 80 pitches due to right flexor tendinitis, but neither he nor the Mets considered it serious. He expects to make his next start as scheduled, provided he can come through his between-starts work without issue. That process began when deGrom played catch, and it continued with a bullpen session. deGrom flashed a thumbs-up sign after that one, indicating he’s good to go against the Cubs. 

June 16, 2021:  Jacob walked off the mound in the third inning and proceeded directly down the clubhouse tunnel, kicking the base of the wall in frustration.  deGrom had just thrown three more perfect innings to reduce his Major League-leading ERA to 0.54. But he departed with a sore right shoulder.  As he warmed up for the third, deGrom felt discomfort in his shoulder, noticeably shaking his arm after a pitch to Eric Sogard.  When the discomfort did not dissipate, deGrom made the decision to cut short his outing.

Initial strength tests revealed no hint of a major injury, but deGrom will undergo an MRI to make sure that’s the case. 

June 17, 2021:  At 4:00 p.m., Jacob emerged from the Mets’ bullpen to play a light game of catch in the Citi Field outfield.  An MRI administered earlier in the day had revealed the image, in manager Luis Rojas’ words, of “a normal shoulder from a pitcher.”  It was enough for the Mets to clear deGrom to throw, despite having left yesterday’s start after three innings due to right shoulder soreness.  (DiComo - mlb.com)

June 18, 2021: DeGrom actually believes he hurt himself the previous inning, when he swung and missed at a Robert Stock fastball. When deGrom returned to the mound for the third, his shoulder did not feel right.

It also didn’t feel completely wrong, which is why deGrom is not on the injured list. Speaking for the first time since receiving his MRI results, deGrom said that the shoulder soreness, which knocked him out of his last start after three innings, was not unlike what he typically feels after starts. The only difference is that this time, deGrom felt it during an outing. (A DiComo - MLB.com - June 18, 2021)

July 18-end of 2021 season:  Jacob was on the IL with right forearm tightness. 

Aug 13, 2021: Mets ace Jacob deGrom, who is battling inflammation in his right elbow, will remain shut down for two more weeks after undergoing an MRI exam, manager Luis Rojas said.

DeGrom sought a second opinion in Los Angeles from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who made the recommendation of not throwing for that period of time.

Rojas said the inflammation has improved since deGrom was initially shut down on July 30, but it has not improved enough to start a throwing program. When those two weeks are up, deGrom will undergo more imaging. Rojas said that the right-hander doesn't have ligament damage, but he needs more time to heal.

Aug 20, 2021: deGrom was moved to the 60-Day IL.

Aug 25, 2021: Dressed in shorts, workout tights and a sleeveless shirt, deGrom let loose only a few throws at what appeared to be minimal effort. It was his first time throwing a baseball since the Mets shut him down due to elbow inflammation in July. Subsequent MRIs revealed enough inflammation for the Mets to keep deGrom shut down, until testing came back completely clean.  Now, deGrom will begin the process of ramping up—flat-ground sessions, bullpen sessions, perhaps live BPs and eventually Minor League rehab games. The Mets are not placing a timetable on that process, but for most starting pitchers, it tends to take the better part of a month. That makes it uncertain if deGrom will have enough time to return to the Mets this season.

Sept 3, 2021:  A Mets official said that deGrom, despite feeling good, is likely about 10 days away from advancing to bullpen sessions. He has been throwing off flat ground from 75 feet and must extend that to 120 before making it to the slope of a mound. That process should take deGrom into the third week of September.

April 1, 2022: The Mets announced a stress reaction in deGrom’s right shoulder and he went on the IL.

Dr. James Gladstone, who serves as the chief of sports medicine at Mt. Sinai Health System, explained that "scapular injuries like deGrom’s can often require six weeks to heal." Add in the time deGrom will need to prepare to face opposing batters in meaningful games, and DiComo notes that the 33-year-old may not take the bump until "early to mid-June, but maybe a bit earlier or later than that." 

May-Aug. 1, 2022: The Mets moved deDgrom to the 60-Day IL.

In his first game back, it had been 13 months, since July 7, 2021, in between starts. (A DiComo - mlb.com - Aug 2, 2022)

April 17, 2023: The veteran pitcher DeGrom, left the start against the Royals as a precaution because of right wrist soreness. 

April 23, 2023: According to manager Bruce Bochy, Jacob'sbullpen session went well, and he will make his originally scheduled start in the series finale against the A’s.

April 29, 2023: DeGrom was on the IL with right elbow inflammation. 

During the 5-2 win over the Yankees at Globe Life Field, deGrom exited in the fourth inning due to what the club announced postgame as right forearm tightness. He had an MRI the following day, which showed inflammation in the elbow.

May 11, 2023:  deGrom will miss about another couple of weeks, manager Bruce Bochy said. He was playing catch, but was still not throwing off the mound. 

June 6, 2023: It was announced the deGrom would undergo surgery to repair a tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Rangers GM Chris Young didn't specify if the procedure will be reconstructive Tommy John surgery or another surgery, but either way, the celebrated right-hander is done for the season.

June 12-Nov 6, 2023: Team physician Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery. On June 18, deGrom said that he hopes to return in August 2024. General manager Chris Young made sure to point out that timelines are fluid when it comes to injuries. It was the second similar operation for the 34-year-old deGrom, who underwent Tommy John surgery for the first time following his debut season as a professional in 2010.

March 22-Sept 13, 2024: Jacob was on the IL with right elbow surgery.

July 9, 2024: deGrom said he threw off a mound for the first time on June 17. His bullpen session included about 15 pitches, all fastballs.

“I’m feeling really good,” deGrom said. “[The bullpen] went really well, so one day at a time. I’ve got two more times this week and then just keep moving forward. I definitely want to be out there. That's the hardest thing. You want to be out there competing. But I've been through this before, so I knew what to expect and it was a long road. The main thing was just trying to be smart, not doing too much. We've been sticking to the program. Everything has felt good along the way.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said deGrom threw a 30-pitch bullpen on July 9, which included some changeups. Bochy noted that deGrom still needs "quite a few more bullpen sessions and hasn't started spinning the ball," meaning the right-hander hasn't thrown any breaking balls yet. Bochy said deGrom is still "a ways away."

General manager Chris Young pointed out that timelines are fluid regarding injuries, but he also said the ace is progressing well in rehab with an eye on returning around August.