DeGrom was scratched from his start Monday due to a stiff back blamed on a soft mattress but was able to throw a bullpen session and is expected to be fine for his next start, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.
The Mets didn't want deGrom to make the two and a half hour bus ride to Lakeland to face the Tigers, which is why he was scratched. As he was able to throw a 20 minute, 40 pitch bullpen session without incident, the belief is that this is a one-time incident and he should be fine moving forward. However, given his increased work load last year, any mild ailments may raise a yellow flag.