rangers right hander Jacob deGrom is enjoying his first fully healthy offseason in quite some time after returning from Tommy John surgery in September. As Sean McFarland of the Dallas Morning News noted, deGrom spoke to reporters about his outlook for the 2025 season and revealed that he had begun stepping away from the mound earlier this winter. The veteran hopes playing at a slower pace for longer periods of time than in the past will help him stay healthy this season.
The 36-year-old is perhaps the best pitcher in the entire sport when healthy, but staying healthy over the past five years has been a difficult task. DeGrom won the NL Cy Young Award back-to-back with the Mets in 2018 and ’19 and finished third in the shortened 2020 season, finishing 2021 with a 1.08 ERA and a jaw-dropping ’s incredible start with a 45.1% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, he was sidelined in early July with forearm and elbow issues, ultimately ending his season. It’s been much the same since, with deGrom playing less and less time in the majors each year but continuing to dominate whenever he’s on the mound.
Since the start of the 2021 season, deGrom has pitched to a 2.01 ERA (200 ERA+), a 1.63 FIP and 307 strikeouts in 197 1/3 innings. If it weren’t for deGrom spending parts of four seasons racking up those numbers, this would be on the shortlist for the greatest pitching season ever, and after watching Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer The Rangers will surely be hoping they see what deGrom can do in this year’s starting lineup after being out of the rotation for two straight offseasons. DeGrom couldn’t agree more, telling reporters yesterday (including McFarland) that his goal is to start 30 games this year.
While McFarland noted that deGrom has not yet spoken with Rangers brass about his 2025 workload, the idea that deGrom will start 30 games as a pitcher with his injury history cannot be completely discounted. After all, he is left-handed Garrett Crochet He started 32 innings with the White Sox last year, although he never pitched more than 65 innings in a season throughout college and throughout his career due to injuries and time spent in the bullpen. The White Sox made that possible by aggressively managing the game in the second half. When the calendar turned to July this year, he never got out in the fifth inning, and his pitch count reached 77 after the All-Star break. Granted, Crochet is more than a decade younger than deGrom, but that kind of aggressive inning management could allow the Rangers to get the most out of their ace throughout the regular season and playoffs without him having to pitch close 200 games.
DeGrom isn’t the only key player the Rangers are hoping for better health in 2024. Josh Jungoutfielder Evan Carterand shortstop Corey Seager After undergoing surgery in the fall, everyone is healthy and ready for spring training next month. Seager had sports hernia surgery in September but returned to baseball activity in November, while Jung and Carter were slightly delayed after undergoing wrist and back surgeries in October, respectively.
Having these three healthy and productive in 2025 would be a huge boon for the Rangers, who failed to defend their 2023 World Series title in the 2024 postseason due in large part to the offense Nothing good to say. Last year, Rangers hitters had a collective wRC+ of just 95, Seager played in just 123 games due to injury, and Jung and Carter played in just 46 and 45 games, respectively. Seager is still as productive as ever when healthy, with a .278/.353/.521 slash line in 533 plate appearances, but Jung (102 wRC+) and especially Carter (80 wRC+) are very Difficult to keep up Due to injuries, even when they are on the field, their expected production will suffer.
Although the club has strengthened its offense by bringing in players this winter, Jock Pederson and Jack Burger replace Nathaniel Lowe On the roster, if the Rangers want to go into the upcoming season looking more like their 2023 offense, which ranked third in baseball with a 116 wRC+, than their below-average 2024 club, then Jung and Carter’s Health status is required. Healthy seasons for Jung and Carter will also have the benefit of boosting the outfielders Lady Taveras and infielder Josh Smith Moving into a backup role makes them one of the deeper positional groups in the sport when fully healthy.
