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Jacob deGrom shocked the baseball world this offseason after signing with the Texas Rangers. The star pitcher had spent the first nine years of his career in the Big Apple.
With the Mets, he developed into one of the league’s top arms. His 2.52 career ERA and two Cy Young awards speak for themselves.
Unfortunately, he often struggled with injury. Setbacks held him out of the rotation for large parts of the last two seasons, which frustrated many Mets fans. He made just 26 starts in 2021 and 2022 combined, posting a 12-6 record.
When on the mound, he’s unhittable at times, but in the dugout, he’s ineffective. The time on the injured list worried New York, and when it came time to pay up, the Mets opted to walk.
Instead, Texas ponied up, signing the pitcher to a five-year, $185 million contract.
Things are off to an ominous start in Arlington, though, as it’s been revealed that Jacob deGrom will miss his first Spring Training workout with the team due to “left side soreness.”
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News said the following about the setback.
With deGrom feeling some “tightness” in his left side following his most recent bullpen, combined with cold temperatures and some wet conditions, the Rangers decided to hold him out of their first workout, Texas general manager Chris Young said.
Manager Chris Young did say that deGrom wanted to participate, but that the Rangers were proceeding with caution. That didn’t stop Mets fans from trolling Texas about their new star pitcher.
— Bobby Foster (@SilentBob_2) February 15, 2023
One fan wrote, “Get used to this Rangers fans… around ten starts of the greatest baseball you’ve ever witnessed and then six months of this.”
Another said, “Have fun, Rangers, this is what you paid for!”
While the removal from the workout seems precautionary, it’s not necessarily the start that Rangers fans wanted to see from their new addition. We’ll likely see Jacob deGrom suit up for Texas later in the week.