The injury bug may have already come for Texas Rangers' newest star pitcher Jacob deGrom — just two months into his tenure with his new team ahead of Spring Training.
“Jacob deGrom felt some tightness in his left side, and — given the cold weather and how early it is in camp, we’re told — they’re going to hold him back a day or two. We’re told the seriousness level is such that he would play through it if it were the regular season,” The Athletic's Levi Weaver tweeted on Wednesday.
DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers in free agency, after previously spending his entire nine-year career with the New York Mets.
“Chris Young said that he was the one who made the decision, and did it out of an abundance of caution. Said that deGrom wanted to be out there,” Weaver wrote.
It is certainly concerning news for deGrom and the Rangers, who are relying on the former All-Star to be a huge part of the rotation in 2023 and beyond; Young is the general manager of the Rangers, and helped bring the 34-year-old to Texas in early December of 2022.
The Stetson University product made his debut in May of 2014 after being selected by the New York Mets in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB draft. He is a four-time All-Star, two-time Cy Young winner, and led the National League in strikeouts in both 2019 and 2020.
But deGrom has struggled with his health in recent years, suffering a stress reaction which caused him to miss the beginning of the 2022 season with the Mets. He didn't make his season debut until August against the Washington Nationals.
He finished the 2022 season with a 3.08 ERA over 11 starts, with 102 strikeouts.
The Texas Rangers will be hoping Jacob deGrom's tightness is not something that will cause him to miss any more than a “day or two” of Spring Training.
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