deGrom, Scherzer rejoin team in NY while rehab progresses

NEW YORK -- Now that Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are both back in Queens, it should not be long before the Mets’ missing aces return to the mound.

Scherzer, who is rehabbing a strained left oblique muscle, is scheduled to throw a simulated game in the coming days at Citi Field. That should be his final test before beginning what he hopes will be one Minor League rehab start (but could wind up becoming two or three). If all goes well, Scherzer could return by late June, hitting the front end of his initial six- to eight-week timetable.

deGrom, meanwhile, completed his fourth bullpen session on Tuesday with an eye toward throwing an “up-and-down” bullpen on Friday, which is designed to simulate the breaks between innings. From there, deGrom will progress to live batting practice and eventually a Minor League rehab assignment of his own; deGrom’s Minor League stint should last longer than Scherzer’s as he eases his way back from a stress reaction in his right scapula, but he remains on track to return by early to mid-July.

“Everything feels good,” deGrom said. “Hopefully, not too much longer.”

In that fashion, it’s conceivable the Mets could have their top two pitchers back by the All-Star break, boosting a rotation that ranks 24th in the Majors with a 5.26 ERA since Scherzer joined deGrom on the injured list in mid-May. No. 3 starter Chris Bassitt has also struggled without deGrom and Scherzer, forcing the Mets to rely chiefly on Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker for innings. When Scherzer and deGrom return, it will likely push David Peterson and possibly Tylor Megill out of the rotation, though oftentimes unforeseen circumstances change the equation.

In Scherzer’s case, the timeline has always been transparent. Upon feeling a “zing” in his left oblique during a May 18 game against the Cardinals, Scherzer underwent an MRI that revealed the strain, and he received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his midsection. At the time, Mets officials estimated a six- to eight-week recovery period, which Scherzer remains in line to hit. Outside of a dog bite on his pitching hand that has not affected his timeline, Scherzer has not experienced any unexpected complications thanks to the deliberate nature of his rehab program.

“You can feel good, go out there and not feel any symptoms whatsoever, and you can overdo it at that point, overload the muscle and then you can have a setback,” said Scherzer, who estimated that the final 10 percent of his recovery process is the hardest. “I can see very easily how you can have a setback. That’s the first and foremost thing on my mind is I do not want to have a setback in any which way.”

deGrom’s progress has been shrouded in a bit more mystery, involving multiple MRIs and CT scans and a slower progression back from a stress injury. But deGrom has felt strong for weeks now and is ready to ramp things up further, with an eye toward joining Scherzer in July. Last month, deGrom moved his rehab from Florida to New York; Scherzer joined him at Citi Field this week.

Between them, deGrom and Scherzer own five Cy Young Awards and rank among the most decorated pitchers of this generation. They are making a combined $77.8 million this season -- more than several teams’ entire payrolls -- and more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the lives of their contracts.

As two pitchers of similar pedigree, they are eager to be back in the same rotation.

“I’ve got to just do me,” Scherzer said. “I’m cheering [deGrom] along as best he can, but he can only go as fast as he can, and I can only go as fast as I can. I’ll pitch when I can pitch.”