Texas Rangers Ace Dealing With Mechanics Issue After Rough Outing

The Texas Rangers got the victory on Saturday, but it was a tough day for their superstar ace, Jacob deGrom.

Michael Brauner | Apr 6, 2025

Apr 5, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) throws during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers earned a series victory on Saturday by taking each of the first two games from the Tampa Bay Rays and will go for a sweep as well as a fifth consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon.

After several low-scoring victories and an offense which has largely sputtered to this point, it has become evident that if the Rangers are going to experience the kind of success they seek this season, it's largely going to be reliant upon the pitching staff.

It's a starting rotation that is not even close to healthy after late spring injuries from Cody Bradford and Jon Gray as well as now a stint on the injured list for Jack Leiter coming off a sensational first two starts.

One player who has not been healthy over the last couple of years but by all accounts entered 2025 at 100% is the ace for Texas, two-time National League Cy Young right-hander Jacob deGrom.

After a decorated career with the New York Mets, deGrom signed a five-year deal for $185 million with the Rangers, though two years into the contract he had made a total of just nine starts in a Rangers uniform.

The first start of this season for deGrom — which ended in a 3-2 Texas victory over the Boston Red Sox — went well with five innings producing just two hits for Boston including six strikeouts and no runs.

Making his second start on Saturday however, things did not go as well for deGrom with eight hits leading to four runs and just three strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.

Though the Rangers were still able to grab a victory, deGrom's performance was down a notch from his season debut. Speaking to media after the game, the righty revealed he was struggling with his mechanics.

"Tonight, I didn't locate very well," he said. "Everything was kind of up in the zone. I’ve been working on trying to stay closed longer. I think it's gonna be a little bit of a process to get that right. Because of that, the off-speed was a little inconsistent. You just look at their approach, since I wasn't able to consistently get the ball down, it felt like they were just hunting something up. I made a few mistakes. But the most important thing is we got a win."

Through two starts this season, deGrom sports an ERA of 3.38 in 10.2 innings pitched with a solid WHIP of 1.125.

The start on Saturday was less than ideal for someone Texas hopes is going to regain the form he had before he joined the franchise, which included winning two National League Cy Young awards.

A true student of the game, if there is a mechanical issue and something that is correctable, deGrom is the exact type of guy you want trying to fix it with the staff.

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