Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with right elbow inflammation. Yerry Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. Here’s what you need to know:
- DeGrom exited Friday’s game against the New York Yankees with forearm tightness, according to manager Bruce Bochy.
- He pitched 3 2/3 innings before exiting with a team trainer. He gave up one hit, struck out two batters and walked one.
- The Rangers beat the Yankees 5-2 to improve to 15-11.
Jacob deGrom has left tonight's game with a team trainer in the top of the 4th inning.
(via @YESNetwork)pic.twitter.com/4ogm1Rt4SC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 29, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How concerning is this?
This is the second time in the first month of the season deGrom has left a game early because of injury. Just 11 days earlier, he left a game after four no-hit innings against the Royals for what the team said was right wrist soreness. He rebounded six days later to throw six strong innings against the Athletics, with 11 strikeouts.
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Against the Yankees on Friday, deGrom was cruising, having allowed just one hit in 3 2/3 innings before he was pulled. In total this season, he’s pitching about at the same pace of innings as the rest of Texas’ rotation. But Bochy and the Rangers probably can’t walk on pins and needles with their star pitcher all season. At some point, they’ll need to know they can let him go through a game without worry.
But because the Rangers have so much invested in the two-time Cy Young Award winner, one way or another they will proceed with caution when it comes to deGrom. — Groke
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What’s next for the Rangers?
By putting deGrom on the 15-day injured list, they bought themselves some time. “There’s no need to push him,” Texas general manager Chris Young told reporters Saturday.
With two days off next week, the Rangers can use a four-man rotation at first, with Rodríguez as bullpen reinforcement. In the meantime, they can monitor deGrom slowly and determine if he’s available to return on May 14, after the necessary minimum amount of time on the injured list. If he pitches that day, the Rangers would be using a fifth starter only once, on May 9. And Dane Dunning would be an obvious option there.
If, in the intervening two weeks, deGrom shows he’s not able to return or his injured elbow proves to be a bigger issue, then the Rangers can regroup later with more significant roster measures. — Groke
Backstory
DeGrom, 34, is playing in his first season with the Rangers. He signed a five-year deal with Texas during the offseason at an average annual value of $37 million.
Entering Friday’s start, deGrom was 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA and 0.788 WHIP.
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(Photo: Raymond Carlin III / USA Today)