Jacob deGrom and the Rangers’ respective seasons could be hanging in the balance.
Texas’ ace exited Thursday’s start against the Angels after just two innings due to discomfort in his triceps and is slated for testing Friday.
The Rangers (60-62) are two games back of the Astros in the AL West and 1/2 game behind the Tigers for the third and final AL Wild Card berth.
“I’m not too concerned,” deGrom said after the 7-0 loss. “Hopefully I’ll make my next (start), we’ll see. There in the second it was tight and just didn’t want to loosen up … I haven’t really had that before.”
DeGrom, 38, has battled injuries since signing with Texas ahead of the 2023 season, and any tightness in the pitching arm is always a reason for concern.
The former Met said he felt the tightness in the second inning and felt he could have continued to pitch if needed, but the team didn’t want to push the issue.
He threw 32 pitches that inning while surrendering two runs on five hits, which left him with the loss in an outing he described as “disappointing” since the team could have used length from its starter.
The righty has also battled a hip/glute injury as of late, and the premature departure left him two strikeouts short of 2,000 for his career.
“I wasn’t going to risk it once I heard the triceps,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing huge, but we’ll know more tomorrow.”
The Rangers are already dealing with a compromised rotation after placing veteran Nathan Eovaldi on the injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation, along with Jack Leiter’s absence, and losing deGrom — even if just for a short stint — could potentially be a death blow to their playoff chances.
Texas has lost three straight — all to the lowly Angels — and is stuck in a 5-10 rut that cost the team its division lead and a playoff spot.
“Obviously, you don’t want to hear anything arm-related,” Schumaker said, per ESPN.
“You pull a guy out in the second inning, it’s concerning. But we’ll figure it out when he gets some imaging. We won’t know until they get in there.”
