Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Throws three innings in minors game
Rotowire
DeGrom (illness) threw three innings in a minor-league game Friday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
DeGrom had to be scratched from a scheduled appearance Thursday due to a stomach virus, but it wound up setting him back only one day and shouldn't affect his readiness for the start of the season. The Rangers plan to start deGrom at the back-end of their rotation once the regular season begins as part of a plan to monitor his workload.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that DeGrom won't pitch Thursday as initially planned while the right-hander recovers from a stomach virus, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
DeGrom had been penciled in to start Thursday's Cactus League game against the Giants or in a minor-league contest on the back fields of camp, but he won't be available in any capacity after he apparently fell ill overnight. Assuming he's able to quickly bounce back from the ailment over the next couple of days, deGrom should still be on track to open the season in the Texas rotation, but he can't afford to miss many more throwing sessions at this stage of camp. The Rangers had already been easing deGrom in during spring training, and he built up to 31 pitches in his first Cactus League start Saturday. DeGrom will likely need to push his pitch count into the 60-to-70 range by the end of the spring to head into his first start of the regular season without any major workload restrictions.
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Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Scaling back velocity in 2025
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DeGrom plans to dial back the velocity on his pitches this season in an effort to stay healthy, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
DeGrom's average fastball velocity was 96 miles per hour during his best season in 2018, but it climbed each of the three years after that, peaking at 99.2 mph in 2021. Persistent arm trouble accompanied the added velocity, and deGrom hopes pumping the brakes a bit can help keep him on the mound. He averaged 97.3 mph during his three starts last season with the Rangers and sat at 97 mph in his first spring training outing. While the Rangers don't have a strict innings limit with deGrom in 2025, they will manage his workload, which will include starting him at the back end of the rotation when the season begins.
DeGrom threw two scoreless innings against the Royals in Saturday's Cactus League game, striking out three batters.
Making his first appearance of the spring, deGrom threw 31 pitches and didn't allow a baserunner. He struck out both Kyle Isbel and Bobby Witt to open the contest and finished his day off with a strikeout of Tyler Gentry. DeGrom's fastball touched 98 mph, and his slider and curveball looked sharp. The Rangers are going to slowly ramp things up with deGrom, and he's scheduled to again take the mound Thursday against the Giants. He's likely looking at 40-45 pitches in his next start, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.
Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Starting at back end of rotation
Rotowire
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Monday that deGrom will begin the season at "the back end" of the rotation, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
He's expected to make his first regular season start either March 30 versus the Cubs or March 31 against the Reds. DeGrom is considered healthy, but the Rangers are simply allowing the two-time Cy Young Award winner ample time to build up after he missed most of the last two seasons while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. The 36-year-old will make his Cactus League debut Friday against the Rockies and will be built up to five innings by his final spring outing.
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Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Throws live BP
Rotowire
DeGrom threw live batting practice Saturday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. "He looked good," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He looked like Jacob; the stuff, everything. He felt good. I think he came out of it fine."
DeGrom threw 25 pitches (14 strikes) in his first live BP session of spring. One person on hand estimated he was throwing at about 80-to-90 percent. The 36-year-old deGrom is looking for his first full healthy season since 2020; he's made just 35 starts over the last four seasons. Despite what has been a deliberate pace in deGrom's ramp-up, Bochy expects the pitcher to be ready when the regular season begins. He'll make his first spring start this coming Friday.
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Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Making Cactus League debut Friday
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DeGrom will make his first Cactus League start next Friday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
DeGrom is set to throw his first round of live batting practice Saturday in preparation for his first spring start, after spending the past few weeks throwing bullpen sessions. The veteran right-hander will have slightly less than three weeks after his first spring appearance to ramp up for Opening Day. Given he missed most of the last two seasons, it seems likely he begins the season under some workload restrictions.
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Rangers' Jacob deGrom: On track for mid-March spring debut
Rotowire
DeGrom will throw the first of what will likely be a few live batting practice sessions this weekend before he'll be ready to appear in a Cactus League game, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
That schedule likely lines deGrom up to make his Cactus League debut in the second week of March. It's a quick turnaround between then and Opening Day, but the Rangers are understandably being careful with deGrom this spring after he missed most of the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery in June 2023, the second of his career. The two-time Cy Young winner might have a relatively limited workload early on this season.
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