The Texas Rangers were hoping that ace Jacob deGrom would progress while rehabbing from his elbow injury. Now, his season is over.
The Texas Rangers, in need of starting pitching help, made a huge gamble this past winter. That being, they signed former New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract. While he is one of the best pitchers in the game, he had been unbelievably injury prone the previous two years. But, the Rangers hoped that they could have him at full health.
On Monday, the Rangers placed deGrom on the 60-day injured list with right elbow inflammation that forced him from his Apr. 28 start against the New York Yankees. The team would send him to undergo another MRI on Tuesday to see how he was progressing.
Unfortunately for deGrom, his debut season with the Rangers is officially over. As first reported by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, deGrom is set to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his UCL. The full extent of the tear won't be known until he undergoes surgery, which is scheduled for next week.
Jacob deGrom's debut season with Rangers is over, as he's set to undergo Tommy John surgery
It has been a rough couple of years for deGrom. He missed the second half of the 2021 season with the Mets due to right elbow inflammation. Then in 2022, deGrom missed the start of the campaign due to a stress reaction of his right scapula.
Unfortunately, the injuries carried over into his first year with Texas. At the start of spring training, deGrom was limited with left-side tightness. Then, in mid-April, he left a start against the Kansas City Royals due to right wrist soreness. His latest injury scare turned out to be one that would end his season after just six starts.
deGrom has recorded a 2.67 ERA, a 0.758 WHIP, 45 strikeouts, and four walks in 30.1 innings.
The Rangers have been performing well without deGrom, but this is the worst news they could have gotten. deGrom was supposed to play a pivotal role in the team making it back to the postseason for the first time since 2016. Now, he will be out until midway through the 2024 season.