Rangers Have Several Ways to Reschedule Jacob deGrom’s Start after Scratch

The Texas Rangers were not expecting to have to scratch right-hander Jacob deGrom from his first start of the season.

But, when he came into the clubhouse with neck stiffness, the Rangers opted to push him back and insert left-hander Jacob Latz to take the start. It means Texas will start back-to-back left-handers, with MacKenzie Gore set to start on Sunday.

deGrom met with reporters before Saturday’s game. Per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, deGrom said he woke up with a stiff neck, took the first bus to the ballpark and got treatment. The decision was made not to push him into the start. He said he believes he’ll be available to start later in the road trip.

But the Rangers may not need to do that. If there was a time to scratch deGrom, this was the time. The schedule aligns in a way where the Rangers don’t have to push the two-time Cy Young winner into the rotation.

Texas Rangers Future Rotation

Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter throws a baseball. — Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Rangers have already set their probable starting pitchers for the series in Baltimore that begins on Monday, per the team's game notes. In a bit of a twist, Texas will start right-hander Kumar Rocker in Monday's opener, followed by right-hander Jack Leiter on Tuesday. This is likely a matchup driven decision for the Rangers.

Leiter will be going on a week’s rest after pitching in the final exhibition game on Tuesday in Arlington.

The Rangers have Nathan Eovaldi penciled in as their starter for the finale on Wednesday. Texas has the freedom to do this because of the off day between the first two games of the Philadelphia series. If the Rangers choose to keep these probables, then Eovaldi would start on normal rest for the first time this season.

Per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News on X (formerly Twitter), the hope is that deGrom could start on Tuesday. But the situation remains fluid. Jeff Wilson of DLLS reported that if deGrom does go Tuesday, then Leiter might go Monday and either Rocker or Eovaldi would go on Wednesday. One thing is clear — deGrom is not going to start the home opener on Friday, as Texas had hoped.

The upside is that Texas wouldn't have to push deGrom to make a start. Whether the Rangers execute this adjustment will be up to how quickly he covers from his stiff neck. At least Texas has the tools to deal with it.