Texas Rangers ace exited Thursday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Angels after just two innings due to right triceps fatigue. The veteran right-hander is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the issue.
DeGrom said afterward that he was not overly concerned and hoped to make his next scheduled start. He explained that his triceps became tight during the second inning and never loosened up, something he said he had not experienced before.
The 38-year-old has already been dealing with a left hip and glute injury since the All-Star break. After escaping a first-inning jam, deGrom struggled badly in the second, surrendering five hits and two runs over 32 pitches. He was replaced to start the third inning with Los Angeles ahead 2-0.
It marked the first time deGrom had allowed five hits in a single inning since September 5, 2017, when he was with the New York Mets.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged that the situation was concerning, particularly because the issue involved deGrom’s throwing arm. However, he said the team would wait for the MRI results before determining the next steps.
Texas is already dealing with a major blow to its rotation after Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday with elbow inflammation. With Eovaldi and deGrom now dealing with injuries, the Rangers could potentially be without their top two starters for a stretch.
“Our starting pitching has taken a hit,” Schumaker said, emphasizing how difficult it is to lose both of the team’s leading starters.
DeGrom finished the night allowing six hits, striking out three, and walking one. He also remains just two strikeouts away from becoming the 94th pitcher in MLB history—and ninth active pitcher—to reach 2,000 strikeouts.
The outing continued what has been a difficult season against the Angels for deGrom. Across three starts against Los Angeles, he has surrendered 10 earned runs over just 10 innings.
Despite the frustration, deGrom said he understood the Rangers’ decision not to take a risk with his arm.
The two-time National League Cy Young winner has been one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers when healthy. From 2017 through 2019 with the Mets, he made at least 31 starts each season and posted a 2.53 ERA across 622⅓ innings. He won consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019 and led the NL in strikeouts in 2019 and the shortened 2020 campaign.
However, injuries have significantly limited him in recent years. He made only 35 starts from 2021 through 2024 and underwent his second Tommy John surgery in June 2023, which kept him sidelined for much of his first two seasons with Texas.
