Jacob deGrom could be throwing bullpens by weekend: 'The intensity is starting to climb now'

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Jacob deGrom has moved his rehab to New York, where he was throwing at Citi Field on Tuesday, and Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said the ace is getting closer to throwing bullpen sessions.

“The intensity is starting to climb now,” Hefner told Tim Healey of Newsday. “We want to have eyes on him as we progress towards bullpens, we want to make sure that [everything is going well]. Not that the people in Port St. Lucie can’t do that. But once he’s starting bullpens, then he can do that with me, we can get him into that routine and those sorts of things.”

Hefner said deGrom is still throwing from 90-105 feet on flat ground, and could even start throwing bullpens as early as this weekend. The Mets are always cautious with their superstar, who is recovering from a stress reaction in his right scapula, and while recent reports have indicated New York hopes to have deGrom back in late June, Hefner is not putting a timetable on anything.

“It could be four weeks. It could be 12 weeks,” Hefner told Healey. “We have to see how his body reacts to it.”

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