On Wednesday, Jacob deGrom made his fourth minor league rehab start of the year.

Pitching to highly touted catching prospect Francisco Alvarez at Triple-A Syracuse, deGrom pitched four innings, matching the length of his previous outing on July 14. In between, he threw a simulated game on July 21 after dealing with some shoulder soreness and reported “feeling good” after those 60 pitches.

The start on Wednesday lasted 67 pitches with three walks and six strikeouts. The most noteworthy news item of the day was that deGrom allowed two home runs. Brewer Hicklen and Drew Waters, both prospects in the Royals’ systems currently with their Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, supplied the long balls. Hicklen has six MLB games to his name while Waters is still waiting to make his debut.

“It’s good to see him almost get to 70 pitches,” Showalter said. “Trevor [May] had a good outing too. We’ll get our arms around it here in the next day or so. Our hope is that his next outing is with us.”

May pitched the seventh inning for Syracuse and allowed one run, which came home on a wild pitch. May also had a strikeout.

Royals’ legend Salvador Perez was also making a rehab appearance in this game. He struck out twice against deGrom. The two dingers were the only hits deGrom allowed, finishing his day with four earned runs. Showalter reiterated that the next time deGrom takes the mound, he should be pitching for the Mets instead of Binghamton or Syracuse.

“He’s fine, he said his arm felt good,” Showalter reported, brushing off the home runs as a non-issue. “The plan for us, if everything progresses well, is to have him pitch for us next time. That could change by what we hear tomorrow or the next day.”

Showalter then got meta about the whole process of giving deGrom updates.

“I know y’all are okay with not having to talk about it anymore or being responsible for reporting every little thing. I’m okay with that too. More than anybody, I think Jake will like that, just the thought of being able to come after a game and just talk about his outing, that’s pretty attractive right now.”

THREE DRAFT PICKS SIGNED

The Mets have signed three more of their recent draft picks, but none of them are first-rounder Kevin Parada.

On Wednesday, the club officially announced the signings of Blade Tidwell (second round), Nick Morabito (second round) and Jacob Reimer (fourth round). Four of the team’s 22 picks from the 2022 draft have now signed, as this trio joins first-round selection Jett Williams.

Tidwell is a physically imposing right-handed pitcher who played two years at the University of Tennessee. The Mets grabbed him with the 52nd pick of the draft after he posted 51 strikeouts and 11 walks in 39 innings for the Volunteers during the 2022 season. Regarded by many as a first-round talent, Tidwell slid into the second because of shoulder troubles early in his sophomore season. He signed for $1,850,000. The slot value for the 52nd pick is $1,475,100, meaning the Mets see something in Tidwell that made them comfortable paying him like a guy who gets drafted higher up.

Morabito is a 19-year-old outfielder who just finished his time at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He was named 2022 District of Columbia Gatorade Player of the Year after hitting .545 with 12 home runs, 52 stolen bases, 644 on-base percentage and a truly absurd 1.119 slugging percentage. Committed to play at Virginia Tech, Morabito took $1 million from the Mets to join their minor league system rather than play for the Hokies.

Reimer was taken out of the same high school in Yucaipa, CA that produced Taijuan Walker. He is a third baseman who was ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the state of California by Perfect Game, an organization that holds prestigious baseball showcases across the country. Reimer is 18 years old. He had signed to play at the University of Washington but, like Morabito, will turn pro instead. Financial details of his signing have not been disclosed.

All three draftees were at Citi Field on Tuesday, putting on a Mets jersey and hat for the first time while posing for photo ops.

The deadline for the Mets, and every team, to sign the rest of their draft picks is 5 p.m. ET on August 1.

BOONE ON TRADE DEADLINE

Nearly 20 years ago, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was part of the annual trade deadline carousel. A trade from the Reds to the Yankees in July 2003 made him part of Bombers lore forever.

“Sometimes moves are things that put a team over the top, that are absolutely game changers. Sometimes it goes the other way too. As a fan of the game, I look forward to these next few days. I enjoy following along with what you guys are coming up with.”

The real Boone impact came with his famous ALCS home run that sent the Bombers to the World Series, but he also poked some fun at his impact during the last two months of that regular season.

“I [met the team] in Oakland,” Boone remembered. “My first series was [Tim] Hudson, [Barry] Zito and [Mark] Mulder. Then we flew back to New York. I was like, ‘I could have just met you in New York.’”

()