Texas Rangers lose Jacob deGrom to Tommy John: Next steps
By Reid Hanson
The Texas Rangers received arguably the worst news they could have received when Jacob deGrom’s latest MRI came in. The MRI confirmed a UCL tear that will require season-ending Tommy John surgery.
deGrom, the Texas Rangers’ top offseason signing, came to Texas as a certified ace with an inescapable proneness to injury. The Rangers went on a spending spree of sorts to insulate their injury-prone investment.
There’s no reason for the Texas Rangers to panic and make hasty trades after losing Jacob deGrom.
By all accounts they didn’t expect deGrom to suddenly be a workhorse. They accepted he was going to come and go from the injury list and where willing to deal with it. Granted, they likely expected to get more than five starts from their ace but I digress…
With deGrom out most of the season the Texas Rangers still managed to get off to the best start in team history. As long as no more major injuries fall on the rotation, the Rangers are well equipped to survive this loss, as significant as it admittedly is.
To clarify: Full extent of surgery will be determined once Dr Keith Meister gets inside of elbow. For now: Ligament repair. That doesn’t rule out something like an internal brace. Either way: Out at least 12 months https://t.co/Or6mRXmbOZ
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) June 6, 2023
Out at least 12-months, deGrom’s best hope at paying off for Texas is late next season. Any playoff rotation would kill to add deGrom to it so that’s likely the carrot the Rangers chase over the next coming year.
Texas is also fairly loaded in tradable assets. Justin Foscue is a name certain to get hype between now and the trade deadline. He’s a coveted prospect who could be flipped for either a starter of a bullpen arm. Even with the lose of deGrom, the bullpen is arguably in greater need of additions.
The Texas Rangers can use a slow play here. They can ride out their string of good fortune and assess any potential needs to the rotation. They don’t need to overreact today and fill the spot.
The extent of his surgery is undetermined but there’s no chance he’ll be back in 2023.
The Texas Rangers are loaded across the board and playing great baseball. They don’t need to overreact and should be able to survive this loss. They’ll likely feel the situation out and revisit it all closer to the deadline.