Texas Rangers Extra Cautious After Latest Jacob deGrom Injury Scare

Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom left a start early due to injury concerns in his pitching arm for the second time in three games.

It’s clear the Texas Rangers are being extra careful in their treatment of Jacob deGrom. That’s the smart play considering the $185 million investment in the former Cy Young winner.

The staff ace left a game early for the second time in three starts Friday against the New York Yankees. Right foreman tightness led to deGrom being pulled after 3 2/3 innings of the Rangers’ eventual 5-2 win at Globe Life Field.

“It’s just a precaution, so we took him out,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “You know, a couple of starts ago, he felt a little bit [off], so that's what we decided to do – just be a little cautious here.”

The club will reevaluate deGrom on Saturday with hopes of getting a better idea of the latest physical setback.

The right-hander exited after four innings on April 17 against the Kansas City Royals due to right wrist soreness. deGrom made his next scheduled start on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics without any lingering issues.

The Rangers are obviously playing it safe with deGrom, who’s been on the injured list several times over the past few seasons with the New York Mets. The Texas front office understood those injury concerns, but decided to sign deGrom to the largest contract ever given to a pitcher by the franchise.

When on the mound, he’s been as good as advertised. deGrom has 45 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings and a 2.67 ERA. Since giving up five earned runs on Open Day, deGrom has allowed only four earned runs in his last five starts. The Rangers are also 6-0 in deGrom starts.

“He was throwing great, wasn’t he?” Bochy added. “It was the Jacob we know. But it just started to tighten up a little bit there, so we’re being cautious. We'll see what's going on [Saturday] and see how he feels.”

The Rangers (15-11) and Yankees (15-12) are back at it for the third game of the series Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.20) starts for Texas with Jhony Brito (2-2, 6.11) going for New York.

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