Texas Rangers star free agent Jacob deGrom will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, as per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
This will be the second time that deGrom will undergo Tommy John surgery in his career, as he went under the knife during his rookie season with the New York Mets.
The 34 year-old deGrom hasn’t pitched for the Rangers since April, when he exited a start against the New York Yankees after experiencing right forearm tightness.
The Rangers placed deGrom on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. He was expected to return to throwing off of a mound this week, but it was not to be, as the Rangers moved him to the 60-day IL on Monday night.
Rangers General Manager anager Chris Young said that the elbow injury wasn’t improving as quickly as they hoped. The results of deGrom’s latest MRI confirm that his season is over.
The Rangers inked deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract this offseason, despite his history of multiple elbow, forearm and shoulder injuries.
This season, deGrom has a 2.67 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings pitched in six starts.
deGrom was emotional after learning that he would need Tommy John surgery.
“This stinks,” deGrom said through tears, via The Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant. “It’s not ideal. But at least we know what it is now. I want to get it fixed and will set a goal to be back before the end of next year.”
Since deGrom made his MLB debut in 2014, he became one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. He won the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year award with a 2.69 ERA in 22 starts. From 2015-2019, deGrom was a dominant pitcher.
After winning consecutive NL Cy Young awards, deGrom made 12 starts in the 60-game pandemic-shortened season.
Injuries became a problem for deGrom in 2021. He only made 15 starts that season and 11 starts last season.
The recovery from Tommy John surgery is very extensive, it’s unknown if deGrom will be able to pitch at all during the 2024 season.
Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom. Photo courtsey of The Sporting News
