For a guy who's basically become the poster child for baseball heartbreak, this is depressingly familiar territory. Jacob deGrom won't make his next start, and the Rangers haven't ruled out putting him on the 15-day injured list before the All-Star break even arrives.
The first word broke Friday: deGrom would skip his next turn in the rotation with the IL still on the table.
It's a glute strain, reportedly mild, but with deGrom nothing is ever just mild until it isn't. This is a guy who signed a 5-year, $185 million deal with Texas before the 2023 season and then made a grand total of 9 starts across 2023 and 2024 combined while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Rangers have basically been renting a Hall of Fame arm in installments ever since.
That's what made this season sneaky encouraging. DeGrom came into this stretch at 7-5 with a 3.49 ERA across 18 starts, striking out 122 against just 22 walks, and had cracked 100 innings pitched for a second straight year for the first time since 2019. For a guy whose body has betrayed him at every turn since Texas cut the check, that kind of workload is basically a minor miracle.
A follow-up report confirmed deGrom is done before the break and the Rangers are still deciding on the IL.
Now the calendar works against Texas a little. The All-Star break gives deGrom a built-in four days of rest, and the hope inside the organization is reportedly that skipping this one turn plus the break is enough to let him avoid the IL altogether. But manager Skip Schumaker has already conceded he's not sure deGrom will be ready to go right when play resumes, which is the kind of hedge that usually precedes an IL move, not avoids one.
For fantasy owners and Rangers fans alike, this is the same gut-punch on repeat: an ace who looks great when he's out there and completely uncertain about when he'll be out there next. Texas is chasing a playoff spot and needs innings from its rotation, not another stint of DeGrom rehabbing in the background while the front office quietly monitors an option year that reportedly reverts to the club's control if he ever needs another surgery.
Nothing here is disastrous yet. A glute strain isn't a torn elbow ligament, and the Rangers have every incentive to be cautious with a 38-year-old arm they've paid a fortune for and rarely gotten to use. But until deGrom is actually back on a mound throwing, every Rangers fan is going to be holding their breath the way they have for 3 years running.