Texas Rangers Don't Need to 'Push' Jacob deGrom

General manager Chris Young reiterates why the Texas Rangers are taking the cautious approach with injured ace Jacob deGrom.

The Texas Rangers aren’t going to take any chances when it comes to Jacob deGrom. Beyond the $185 million investment in the two-time Cy Young winner, the right-hander means too much to the rebuilt starting pitching rotation.

deGrom went on the 15-day injured list Saturday with right elbow inflammation. He’s left two of his last three starts early, including Friday against the New York Yankees, with arm issues.

“Just there’s no need to push him,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “Certainly, he came in [Saturday] and felt okay, which was a positive, but given how important he is to us and our season, we’re gonna play this very cautiously and see how he responds over the next several days to treatment and, and then [in] seven to 10 days have a pretty good idea of what the next steps are.”

The move to the disabled list is frustrating for deGrom, but he remains “optimistic” that he’ll return healthy and ready to pitch.

“The goal is to not go on the IL,” deGrom said. “Again, the goal is to make 30-plus starts and help put this team in a position to win. It’s disappointing to not be able to do that right now, but I’m staying optimistic about it.”

The Rangers understood the injury concerns with deGrom before doling out a five-year contract to leave the New York Mets. He hasn’t pitched a full season since 2019 and has logged just 156 total innings in 2021-22.

The two starts deGrom left early were for two different reasons. Right wrist soreness ended his night after four innings against the Kansas City Royals on April 17 and Friday’s departure was initially due to forearm soreness.

Young wasn’t sure if all the ailments were related, but being cautious about deGrom’s health ultimately won out when it came to going on the IL.

“Obviously Jacob wants to be out there, but he’s also been very mindful and vocal about the fact that he’s also trying to be smart at this point in the season at this point in his career, how is he kind of balancing those things,” Young said. “Well, he’s being very smart about it. He’s making us aware of how he’s feeling. He’s been great in terms of his routine and diligence in the training room, in the weight room and just in communication with our staff, which has been wonderful.”

Due the upcoming schedule and days off – the Rangers have two this week – the rotation may be able to absorb losing deGrom without much disruption. Young admitted that Dane Dunning is the leading candidate to take a turn or two starting, but no official decision had been made.

The Rangers (17-11) are in a good spot in the standings at the moment, leading the American League West by two games over the Houston Astros. Texas opens a two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday at Globe Life Field with Jon Gray starting.

Things may change over the next couple of weeks without deGrom, but that doesn’t worry Young.

“When he’s healthy, we want him out there pitching,” Young said. “That’s really true of everybody, but we don’t want to put anybody in jeopardy in harm’s way. We want to make sure we need all these guys to stay healthy, whether it’s Jacob or any other of our pitchers here.

“So we’ll treat the symptoms. We’ll get as much information as possible. Be aggressive in our treatments, and hopefully get him back out there. When his body says he’s ready.”

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