Insider Shares Frustrating Plan Regarding Two Texas Rangers Star Pitchers

The Texas Rangers are going to have a plan in place for their two star pitchers throughout the season.

Sep 13, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (48) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers raised some eyebrows when they signed Patrick Corbin on March 18.

The former World Series champion with the Washington Nationals has turned into the butt of jokes around the baseball world with how he has performed since that 2019 campaign, leading Major League Baseball in losses and hits allowed.

But the Rangers are desperate for depth, a reality that has stemmed from the late-camp injuries to Jon Gray with his broken wrist and Cody Bradford with his concerning elbow soreness.

Both were expected to be starters in the Opening Day rotation.

Both are now going to be out until summer.

So Texas has opted to bring Corbin into the mix, giving themselves someone who can eat innings whenever called upon with the hope he can find his previous form now that he's not longer with the Nationals.

The question does remain, though; why do the Rangers need to add him in the first place?

Star prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker seem like they can step into the openings left by Gray and Bradford, filling out the back of the rotation behind Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle.

However, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News shared a reason why they signed Corbin.

"Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle are going to be on pitch limits all season, but especially stringent ones early in the year," the insider wrote.

That's frustrating.

While the slow ramp up for deGrom was expected, especially after it was shared that he would start in the back of the rotation to put less mileage on his arm early, keeping him on a pitch limit throughout the entire season is noteworthy.

Same goes for Mahle.

Both are coming back from Tommy John surgeries, something which limited each of them to three starts in 2024, so this strategy does make sense.

But it's still frustrating nonetheless.

With a pitch count on two out of the five starters and two others having little experience at the Major League level, that is going to put a ton of stress on the bullpen during the 162-game schedule, potentially hurting them when the calendar flips to October.

Perhaps Corbin can change that.

If he's able to still be an innings eater, whether in a starting role or as a swingman coming out of the bullpen, then this addition could be one of the best moves made by Texas all offseason.