Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom has been placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in this throwing elbow, the team announced Saturday. To take deGrom's spot on the active roster, right-hander Yerry Rodríguez has been recalled from Triple-A.
deGrom was removed from his Friday night start in Arlington after working three perfect innings against the Yankees. He needed just 28 pitches to record those nine consecutive outs. With two outs and two runners on in the fourth inning, however, there was a conference on the mound with an athletic trainer, pitching coach Mike Maddux and then manager Bruce Bochy before deGrom was removed from the game.
Given the game situation, it was immediately obvious that deGrom was being removed due to an apparent injury. Here's a video of deGrom being taken out, and around the 55-second mark it sure seems like Maddux says "forearm" to Bochy:
Jacob deGrom has left tonight's game in the top of the 4th inning with apparent injury. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/Gxkjj6Mkqs
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 29, 2023
After the game, we got confirmation. Bochy told reporters that deGrom was removed from the game due to right forearm tightness (via Kennedi Landry) and that he'll be reevaluated Saturday. That re-evaluation turned up the elbow inflammation and led to the roster move. The severity of the injury has not yet been disclosed, and as such there's no current timeline for deGrom's return to the rotation.
deGrom, 34, was one of the best pitchers in baseball through about the midpoint of 2021 and he was also very durable. From the start of the 2017 season through July 7, 2021, he didn't miss a start. He won two Cy Youngs in that span. Since then, however, he's had a litany of injury issues.
In 2021, there was a forearm issue that spawned an elbow injury, as is often the case and may be the case this time around. In 2022, there was a stress reaction in his shoulder and then earlier this season there was an injury to his left side.
Through 30 1/3 innings this season, deGrom has a 2.67 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 45 strikeouts against just four walks. Since the beginning of the 2018 season, he's got a 2.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 921 strikeouts in 675 2/3 innings. More succinctly, he's totally dominant when he's able to take the ball. It's just that the latter part of that statement has been a problem these last three seasons.
DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers this past offseason after spending the first nine MLB seasons of his career with the Mets.
