Jacob deGrom is back. It really wasn’t a start as much as it was a bullpen game, and he was the first pitcher.
He signed a five-year, $185 million contract, which was a lot of money to throw at a guy who spends most of his previous two seasons injured.
So it wasn’t a surprise when they shut him down last season after only six starts.
DeGrom hadn’t pitched since April 28 of last year. He made his 2024 debut last night in Seattle.
Pitching on five-hundred-four days’ rest, he went 3.2 inning, sixty-four pitches, striking out four, giving up four hits, no walks, and no runs.
In a game that means nothing in the standings, deGrom was just trying to make it back to the mound as a showcase for next year. He will get two more starts this season, but anchoring the rotation next year is what the Rangers are hoping for.
DeGrom had his first Tommy John surgery in 2010. He has surgery on his ulnar nerve toward the end of the 2016 season.
But he put up brilliant seasons throughout his career. He was off to an even more brilliant start in 2021 season, going 7-2 with a miniscule 1.08 ERA for the Mets, when forearm tightness shut him down for the season after fifteen starts.
In 2022, he suffered a stress reaction in his shoulder in spring training and didn’t make his first start until August.
He signed with the Rangers that offseason and managed only six starts in 2023. The Rangers won all six games he started. Which turned out to be fortuitous because they squeaked into the playoffs by just one game. So, even though he gave them only six starts, they were the difference between not making the playoffs and going on their historic World Series run.
DeGrom is thirty-six years old. His Cy Young days are probably behind him. But he can still be the dominating pitcher he was. And if he is, the Rangers have one of their best pitchers in franchise history.
Let’s just take a deep breath every pitch he throws that that isn’t his last pitch. The Rangers have him for three more seasons after this one.
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