Even when he’s wholesome, Jacob deGrom can’t appear to shake the stigma round his availability.
The Purple Sox weren’t even going through the Texas Rangers when Boston broadcasters Tom Caron and Lou Merloni began to look forward Sunday to the staff’s season-opening highway sequence towards Texas.
DeGrom is on observe to start out the season on the lively roster, and the Rangers are hoping he’ll play an enormous half in a possible rebound from a tough 2024 season for each the pitcher and the staff.
However a wholesome deGrom didn’t cease Merloni from taking an inexpensive shot on the former Mets pitcher.
“A lot of talent on that team, everybody just sort of underperformed,” Merloni mentioned on-air throughout Boston’s 6-4 win over the Mets in Grapefruit League motion.
“The problem is you get them on that opening series while deGrom is healthy. You want to play them in August when he’s on the IL (injured list).”
DeGrom is coming off a 2024 the place he needed to endure his second Tommy John surgical procedure and did return late within the season to make three begins to shut out the marketing campaign.
He posted a 1.69 ERA spanning 10 2/3 innings, hanging out 14 batters.
Whereas deGrom, when wholesome, is the Rangers’ ace, Texas supervisor Bruce Bochy informed The Put up’s Joel Sherman that the staff intends to make use of him as their fifth starter out of camp to offer additional relaxation.
Meaning deGrom will miss Texas’ opening four-game sequence towards the Purple Sox and is in line to take the ball March 31 towards the Reds in Cincinnati.
DeGrom has made a mere 35 begins during the last 4 seasons, and simply 9 for the Rangers since he signed a five-year cope with them previous to their championship 2023 marketing campaign.
He’s 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA and has tossed simply 41 innings with the Rangers.
Bochy indicated that all the things has been going properly with deGrom in camp.
“He’s doing great. He feels good,” Bochy mentioned.
