PORT ST LUCIE, FL – MARCH 4: Marcus Stroman #0 of the New York Mets warms up prior to the start of the spring training game against the St Louis Cardinals at Clover Park on March 4, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
Marcus Stroman is upbeat and called his calf injury a minor setback
On Wednesday, hearts dropped all over Queens when the New York Mets announced starting pitcher Marcus Stroman was being placed on the Injured List due to a muscle tear in his calf. Things were only made worse when it was reported Stroman’s injury would be a ‘week to week’ situation.
The immediate fear for Mets fans was that this would turn out to be a long-term injury and that the hard-throwing righty may not be back on the bump anytime soon. Fortunately, Stroman has wasted no time coming out and calming nerves everywhere.
On Thursday, the New York hurler took to Twitter to let fans know he’s doing just fine and that this is all a minor setback.
Per Stroman, he was able to toss a 55-pitch bullpen session on Monday with no problems. However, he could feel his calf injury when he was jogging or sprinting. The Mets of course want him at 100 percent when he’s on the mound and never want to risk further injury, which is why the decision was made to put him on the IL.
The 5-7, 180-pounder was getting ready to begin his first full campaign with the Mets. He was traded by the Blue Jays last year to New York ahead of the trade deadline. In 32 total starts with the two clubs, the veteran hurler went 10-13 with a 3.22 ERA and 159 strikeouts.
He’s one of the top starters in the NL East and looked poised to get the season started off with a bang with the Mets. However, his first start will now be delayed due to his calf injury, but Stroman is clearly already focused on getting back as soon as possible.
The Mets will officially start the 2020 campaign on Friday against the Atlanta Braves. Fans will just need to wait a little longer to see Stroman back to his old ways of sitting batters down with his nasty stuff.