Rangers Star Jacob deGrom Explains What he ‘Can’t Stand’ in Pitching

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Jacob deGrom had a goal last season — 30 starts. Even as the Rangers coaxed extra days of rest out of the schedule, he made it.

deGrom avoided the injury list and for a good part of the 2025 season looked like the pitcher he was with the New York Mets. He made the American League All-Star team and was named the AL comeback player of the year.

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How the 37-year-old manages his health in the final two years of his deal with Texas is key to the Rangers ending a two-year playoff drought. He was on the sidelines when the Rangers won the 2023 World Series, recovering from Tommy John surgery. He doesn’t want that again.

So, the workload matters, especially if the Rangers manage a playoff run. So, the innings goal could look different for deGrom in his second full season after surgery.

“When I was young and starting the goal was to build up to get to 200 innings,” he said. “Then I was able to do that for a few years in a row and then, you know, what happened, happened.”

Jacob deGrom, Workload and Home Runs

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom reacts to a call made by an umpire. — Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The right-hander threw 200 or more innings in three straight seasons from 2017-19. In that stretch he won two National League Cy Young awards. After that, various injuries and the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season limited him to under 100 innings for five straight seasons.

So, last year’s 172.2 innings was his most since 2019. He said that normally that would mean a build-up of 30 more innings to get to 200 innings. Texas slotted him as the starter for the fourth game of last season, in part to get him extra rest between starts. Because of that, most of his starts came on extra rest.

The Rangers haven’t revealed a pitching plan for deGrom yet. But new manager Skip Schumaker is conscious of the workload.

“I do feel that Jacob's in a really good spot,” Schumaker said. “You know, I don't want to put a number of innings on him. But making sure that he can go the entire season and be ready for October is the goal.”

deGrom finished last season with a 12-8 record, a 2.97 ERA and 185 strikeouts with 37 walks. He also had a 0.92 WHIP and finished in eighth place in AL Cy Young voting. One thing that proved to be an issue was home runs, especially late in the season. deGrom gave up 26. The only season he gave up more was in 2017 when he gave up 28.

He spent much of the offseason dissecting why. That’s the way he operates.

“The home runs,” he said. “Yeah, I can't stand that. It’s part of the game and Major League hitters are very good. But it’s looking at the home runs, and it was mistakes [down the middle]. Whether its poor execution or whatever, I just have to be better in those situations.”

His rotation mate, Nathan Eovaldi, has watched deGrom dissect those things on the fly. Eovaldi, who has ace-level stuff as well, sees deGrom’s process as a touchstone to learn from. For instance, last season deGrom took a mile or two off his fastball and offered more off-speed pitches to reduce wear and tear. The mix largely worked.

“His fastball is so elite, but he did such a great job of listening and breaking down each one of his games, whether it was good or bad and finding out what he could do better,” Eovaldi said.

deGrom doesn’t care where he pitches in the rotation. He has the status to be the opening day starter, but he wasn’t last year it worked out well for him and the Rangers. As the next season begins, it’s all about staying healthy, for both him and his manager.

“deGrom, how he goes about his business, that just goes a long way,” Schumaker said. “It’s nice to be able to pencil him in every fifth day.”