PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- When news of the injury to ace Jacob deGrom came down in Spring Training, first-year New York Mets manager Buck Showalter speculated that having him out for a few months and coming back in July might be like trading for an All-Star pitcher.

¡°What¡¯s the Trade Deadline nowadays?¡± Showalter mused a couple of days after the injury was discovered. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good addition instead of a trade, Jacob deGrom.¡±

That addition -- a four-time All-Star -- took the first step toward getting back to Citi Field on Sunday night and making good on the skipper¡¯s prediction.

In his first rehab start and first time out since March 27 (right shoulder/scapula stress reaction), deGrom was overwhelming from the outset, striking out five Jupiter Hammerheads in 1 2/3 innings for the Florida State League¡¯s St. Lucie Mets at Clover Park.

¡°Even though it was my first rehab start, I had a lot of nerves and was excited to be back out there,¡± said deGrom, 34, who last started a regular-season game last July 7 when he beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, at home.

The DeLand, Fla., native trotted out to Lynyrd Skynyrd¡¯s ¡°Simple Man¡± and showed the Single-A competition they were simply overmatched.

In dominating fashion, the right-hander hit 100 mph with his first three offerings -- he had six in the stint -- and struck out the side, using cutters on two whiffs. deGrom's lone mistake was hitting Jupiter¡¯s Ian Lewis in the foot with a cutter in the dirt and seeing Lewis steal second base.

In the second inning, he fanned the Hammerheads¡¯ Zach Zubia and Cristhian Rodriguez to complete his 24-pitch (18 strikes) outing.

¡°I felt like I had control of everything -- the main thing was trying to locate the fastball and pitch off that. Everything felt good,¡± said deGrom. ¡°[My shoulder] feels 100 percent. Because it was bone ... you can¡¯t really push it. I had to wait until the bone was healed and move forward from there.¡±

He expects to make at least one more start for St. Lucie.

deGrom¡¯s second and final Spring Training start over three months ago was a piggyback effort with newcomer Max Scherzer. deGrom went three innings and Scherzer shut the door over the final six in a win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

However, deGrom then dealt with right shoulder tightness. An MRI revealed that deGrom was found to have a stress reaction in his right scapula, sidelining him indefinitely and rearranging the Mets¡¯ starting rotation.

At 49-30, the Mets lead the hard-charging Atlanta Braves by 3 1/2 games in the National League East.

¡°No one wants to miss time, we all want to be out there competing,¡± deGrom said. ¡°It¡¯s really tough. You want to be up there and help your team.¡±