The Rangers’ ace is recovering well from offseason surgery and could make his 2024 debut soon.
The Texas Rangers have seen a turnaround over the past month, shifting from potential sellers to optimistic buyers as the MLB trade deadline approaches. As the defending World Series champions move closer to a .500 record, they’ve received encouraging news about injured starter Jacob deGrom.
The 35-year-old ace will join the Rangers in St. Louis for a three-game series starting Monday. According to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News on X, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy announced that deGrom will complete two more bullpen sessions before embarking on a rehab assignment.
deGrom has yet to pitch in 2024 as he continues to recover from the Tommy John surgery that cut short his first season with Texas to just 30.1 innings. The Rangers had signed deGrom to a five-year, $185 million deal before the 2023 season. He started the year impressively, with a 2.67 ERA, a 0.758 WHIP, and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings, but was limited to just six starts before needing surgery to repair a torn UCL.
The Rangers plan for ace pitcher Jacob deGrom’s return from injury
When healthy, deGrom is undeniably one of the top pitchers in baseball. However, injuries have significantly impacted his career, as he hasn’t made more than 15 starts in a season since 2019, when he won his second Cy Young Award.
In 2021, deGrom was selected to his fourth All-Star game, showcasing extraordinary numbers with a 1.08 ERA, a 0.554 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 373. Despite his remarkable performance, he was sidelined in August with right elbow inflammation and didn’t pitch again that season. Remarkably, despite just 92 innings pitched over 15 starts, deGrom still finished ninth in the Cy Young voting.
In the following season, deGrom was hampered by a shoulder injury during spring training and didn’t make his debut until August. He ended up pitching 64.1 innings over 11 starts in 2022, with a 3.08 ERA, which was the second highest of his career.
The Rangers’ defense of their 2023 World Series title has faced challenges. After a sluggish start to the season, the team seemed on track to become sellers at the MLB trade deadline. However, Texas has rallied, winning 13 of their last 20 games since July 1. They now find themselves just 3.5 games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros.
