Jacob deGrom, signed in the offseason to lead the Texas Rangers’ pitching staff, is off to a rocky start with his new team.
deGrom, who has struggled with injury woes over the past few seasons, reported “tightness” in his left side after throwing a bullpen session. Between that, cold Arizona temperatures and wet field conditions, the Rangers decided to give him a few days off, general manager Chris Young said.
The Rangers aren’t taking chances with their five-year, $185 million investment in the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner.
“It’s as much about Day 1 of spring training as anything,” Young told reporters Wednesday morning. “We’re more about planning for March 30. It’s cold and wet and we’re going to have to alter some of what we do anyway. He’s six bullpens in. He’s competitive and wants to be out there. This probably says more about me than it does him.”
The temperature in Surprise, Ariz., was in the mid-30s on Wednesday morning.
The Rangers signed the four-time National League All-Star in December, with the 34-year-old leaving the New York Mets.
deGrom has an 82-57 record and a 2.52 ERA in his nine-year MLB career. He has posted 1,607 strikeouts, leading the National League in 2019 and in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
He has battled multiple injury concerns in recent years, missing the first four months of the 2022 season with a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder and dealing with a UCL sprain in his elbow the year before.
The right-hander started 32 games in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but has been limited to a total of 38 starts over the past three seasons. His record is 16-8 with a 2.05 ERA in that span.
–Field Level Media