MLB
How long will Jacob deGrom be out of the Texas Rangers rotation?
As the Texas Rangers were romping to a 5-2 drumming of the New York Yankees, Jacob deGrom was suddenly removed from the game
The Texas Rangers blazing start has been stalling of late. It has been much the same story: great offense but giving away leads late in the game.
The Rangers’ rotation has never looked better and two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom was on the mound on Friday night. DeGrom jumped all over the Yankees, retiring ten in a row through the first 3.2 innings as the Rangers jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
After surrendering a walk to Anthony Rizzo, deGrom went to work on Willie Calhoun. He jumped out to a 0-2 count and then threw a fastball outside before clutching his right side. Calhoun lined the next pitch into left field for a single and deGrom appeared to limp as he walked off the mound.
Athletic trainer Jacob Newburn and pitching coach Mike Maddux made a visit to the mound, taking longer than a normal visit should take, before signalling to the dugout for manager Bruce Bochy.
As Bochy joined them on the mound, it was clear that deGrom was done for the day, something that has dogged the ace pitcher over the past few seasons.
Before joining the Rangers, deGrom spent nine stellar seasons with the New York Mets. The first seven, he was automatic. The last two, he struggled with nagging injuries, starting just 26 games over that span.
Bruce Bochy later said that deGrom’s removal was “a precautionary move” due to forearm tightness. “A couple starts ago he felt a little bit. So that’s what we decided to do, to be a little cautious here.”
During spring training, deGrom suffered with left side tightness, leading fans and media to wonder if maybe there is a bit more to it than simply his forearm. It is, however, understandable that the Rangers would want to protect their $185 million investment. Forearm tightness can signal more serious problems in the pipeline.
Down the stretch of the season, the Rangers will need deGrom, and when he is healthy he is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. He has a .210 career ERA and prior to the last few struggling seasons, he was a 200 inning-per-season pitcher. While he may never get back to that work rate, Bochy would be happy with something north of 100 if possible.
Bochy said that deGrom will be reassessed on Saturday before anything concrete is decided regarding his time out, but for now, it is just day-by-day.
On Friday, Dane Dunning came on to replace deGrom and threw 3.1 innings, surrendering 2 runs from the baserunners inherited from deGrom, before settling in to the game to pick up the win.