Report: deGrom (shoulder) to miss 'significant amount of time'

The 2022 season won't get off to the best start for the New York Mets.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that imaging showed a stress reaction in the right scapula of ace Jacob deGrom and he's expected to miss a "significant amount of time."

New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will miss Opening Day after imaging showed a stress reaction in his right scapula, sources tell ESPN. While the timetable for deGrom's return is unclear, he's expected to miss a significant amount of time to start 2022. Story soon at ESPN.

The scan for the 33-year-old deGrom came after he experienced tightness in his shoulder and was scratched from his scheduled spring training start on Friday.

The National League Cy Young Award winner in 2018 and 2019, deGrom's bright start to 2021 ended in July when he was sidelined for the second half of the season with a shoulder injury. He opened the year at 7-2 with a 1.08 earned run average over 15 starts.

With deGrom out of the equation, it's widely expected that manager Buck Showalter will name free-agent acquisition Max Scherzer the team's Opening Day starter when the team visits the Washington Nationals on Thursday.