Jacob deGrom to Throw 'Real Soon' for Rangers
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy won’t commit to a date when Jacob deGrom would take the mound for the first time in Spring Training.
It’s not because he isn’t confident that deGrom is fine in the long term. It’s more about not getting cornered into a date.
“I don’t think tomorrow (Saturday), possibly the next day I would say,” Bochy said on Friday. “I’d say that’s more of a target, in that area. I don’t want to say that’s the day. It could be one more day.”
It’s clear the Rangers are being super-cautious with deGrom. The reality is there are no Spring Training games for a week and, as deGrom noted Thursday, he’s gotten plenty of work in the offseason.
Bochy said all signs are favorable for deGrom.
“He’s doing better,” Bochy said. “I say better. It’s not like he was doing bad, but he feels really good and I don’t have a day when he’s gonna throw. But it’s gonna be real soon.
deGrom and the Rangers agreed to a five-year, $185 million deal in the offseason. It’s the largest contract the Rangers have given to a pitcher. It’s also the first time the Rangers have signed a former Cy Young award winner in free agency.
When he reported to Surprise on Tuesday, he told team officials that he was experiencing some tightness on his left side. General manager Chris Young was the one who made the decision to delay deGrom’s camp debut.
“When I got here, they just said, ‘Hey, let's take a couple days and knock this all the way out,” deGrom said.
deGrom said on Thursday that if this were the regular season, he would be pitching.
Signing deGrom came with risks the Rangers were aware of.
He missed half of the 2021 season due to right elbow inflammation. He missed the first half of last season with a stress reaction in his right scapula.
deGrom said he’s already well ahead of where he’s been the past two offseasons.
He was able to get in six sessions on a mound before arriving in Surprise on Tuesday when he normally is only able to get in two or three sessions. He said the past two seasons that only his fastball and change-up were sharp by spring training. This time, deGrom says all of his pitches are ready.
He also said on Thursday that he experienced none of the tightness he felt the previous day.
Last year he went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts with the Mets, but only played two months due to the scapula injury.
deGrom has pitched truncated seasons each of the last three years. The 2020 season was truncated due to COVID-19. In 2021 he went 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA, earned an All-Star Game berth and was ninth in Cy Young voting despite the injury.
Before that, deGrom was highly durable. He made 30 or more starts in four of his first six seasons in the Majors, with his 2018 and 2019 seasons both leading to National League Cy Young awards. In 2018 he led the Majors with a 1.70 ERA, followed by a a 2.43 ERA in 2019.
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