Texas Rangers' ace Jacob deGrom provided an update on how his injury rehab is going ahead of spring training. He had Tommy John surgery last summer and isn't expected back until mid-season at least.
Per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News:
Jacob deGrom said the plan is to start throwing again in the spring, TBD on the date. He’s happy with how his recovery is going, though.
While it's just pure speculation on our part, that seems a bit worrisome. For instance, Robbie Ray of the San Francisco Giants is not expected back until mid-season and is already throwing from 120 feet. If deGrom hasn't even started throwing yet, logic would dictate he'll be back after Ray, which would push his timeline even deeper into the season.
deGrom is just one of many questions in the Rangers' rotation heading into 2024. Though they won the World Series in 2023, the team is without Max Scherzer until mid-season and also has Jordan Montgomery as a current free agent.
deGrom, 34, is one of the best pitchers of his era. He's won the National League Rookie of the Year (2014), has been to the All-Star Game four times (2015, 2018-19, 2021), has won the National League Cy Young twice (2018-19) and finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting a total of six times.
He finished at 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA this past season in just six starts.
He left the Mets after nine years last offseason, signing a five-year, $185 million contract with Texas before 2023.
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