The Rangers have been leaning on deGrom to anchor a rotation through a playoff push, and now they're staring down a stretch without him right when the calendar hits its most inconvenient point. deGrom is 7-5 with a 3.49 ERA across 18 starts and 100.2 innings this season, striking out 122 against just 22 walks — the kind of ratio that makes losing him for any stretch sting a lot more.
Jacob deGrom Won't Make Next Start, Could Need IL Stint t.co/Y44EDjpicz
That initial report tracked with what had already gone sideways on the mound. deGrom was limited to 5 innings in his previous start against the Angels dealing with what he called a "hip/leg thing," and it clearly didn't get better with rest. By Friday, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker confirmed deGrom would miss his final start of the first half against the Astros with what the club is calling a mild left glute strain.
Jacob deGrom won't pitch again before the All-Star break, and may wind up on the #Rangers' 15-day IL: t.co/tPn2bW4Lks
For now, Texas is trying to buy time instead of burning an IL slot. Schumaker's stated hope is that skipping the Astros start and getting the 4-day cushion of the All-Star break lets deGrom heal up without ever needing to go on the injured list at all. That's the best-case version for a Rangers team that signed deGrom to a 5-year, $185 million deal and knows exactly how fragile his medical file has been for stretches of his career.
The latest on Jacob deGrom, as the #Rangers righty is battling a minor glute strain: t.co/tPn2bW4Lks
It's a familiar tension for anyone who's rostered deGrom in a fantasy league or watched Texas plan a rotation around him — the stuff is elite when he's healthy, but "when healthy" has been doing a lot of heavy lifting for years now. A mild strain in July is exactly the kind of injury that either resolves quietly over a break or snowballs into a multi-week absence once a team actually examines it closely.
Nothing is settled yet. The Rangers haven't ruled out the 15-day IL, and deGrom's next start post-break is very much in question until Texas gets more clarity. Watch for an update as the break wraps — whether he's activated on schedule or the IL move becomes official will say a lot about how the Rangers navigate the second half of their rotation.