Rangers Ace Allows Home Run to MLB Legend’s Son in WBC Exhibition

Jacob deGrom said earlier in spring training that one thing that drove him nuts last season was giving up too many home runs.

He allowed 26 home runs last season, the most he gave up in any season since he allowed 28 home runs in 2017. So, when he took the mound on Wednesday in Surprise, Ariz., for his first spring training start of 2026 with the Texas Rangers, the last thing he wanted to give up was a home run.

But, the second batter he faced went yard. Team Brazil’s Lucas Ramirez hit a fastball out of the yard in the first inning to give them a 1-0 lead. The Rangers eventually won, 13-2, in a game that ended after seven innings.

Ramriez, oddly enough, is the son of former Major League slugger Manny Ramirez, who hit 555 home runs in a 19-year career that went from 1993-2011. So, deGrom never faced the slugger in his career.

Jacob deGrom on His Start

Lucas Ramirez — the 20-year-old son of Manny Ramirez, wearing No. 24 for Team Brazil — hit a home run off of Jacob deGrom in the first inning.

The only real blemish on what was otherwise a solid first spring start for deGrom. pic.twitter.com/IkksyzUhYk
— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) March 4, 2026

deGrom knows it is early in spring training, but the pitch that Ramirez hit fell into the mistake category.

“It is what it is,” he said to Rangers beat writers after the game. “I threw a fastball and it was just middle middle. So yeah, I feel like if I hit my spot there … the shape of everything was good. So, it’s just that I threw it right down the middle.”

Otherwise, he was happy with his outing. He allowed three hits in two innings, as he struck out three and walked none. He threw 39 pitches, with 27 strikes. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the goal was to get deGrom two innings, but he didn’t set a pitch count. He hasn’t committed to where deGrom will fit into the starting rotation or an opening day starter.

The Rangers gave the 37-year-old time to build up on the back fields at Surprise, a strategy they used last year. He said that earlier in his career he might have thrown one live batting practice or bullpen before throwing in his first spring game. Now, Texas gave him consistent bullpens, live batting practices and time in their pitching lab to build up properly and work on pitching shapes before his first game. It’s part of the reason he was able to throw nearly 40 pitches.

He hopes to get to four starts in Surprise and to be able to throw five innings or 85 pitches in his first regular season game.

“I've been feeling really good,” he said. “I felt like I could have kept going today. I think my last live I did 30-something pitches. So, you know I think the next jump will be, what? Probably 50 something or so, and then 60 something, 70 you know? So we'll get to the number we want to get to.”