Today: The Rangers have officially activated deGrom to make his first start of the 2024 season. In a pair of corresponding moves, the team optioned right-hander Owen White to Triple-A and transferred Corey Seager to the 60-day IL.
Sept. 10: Jacob deGrom makes his season debut on Friday. The Rangers announced that the two-time Cy Young winner will start that evening’s game in Seattle. It will be his first major league appearance since April 2023. deGrom underwent Tommy John surgery last June.
While deGrom’s return comes too late to give Texas any hope of a playoff push, it’s part of what should be a very exciting series. The Rangers will turn to top prospect Kumar Rocker for his MLB debut in Thursday’s opener. deGrom goes the following night. Manager Bruce Bochy told the beat this evening that Max Scherzer will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start on Saturday (X link via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). Texas will need to create space on the 40-man roster for both Rocker and deGrom.
deGrom has gotten through four rehab starts within the past few weeks. He has mowed down minor league hitters, striking out 15 while allowing only five baserunners over 10 2/3 innings. deGrom tossed four scoreless innings in just 49 pitches with Double-A Frisco on Saturday. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com wrote over the weekend that the Rangers had envisioned deGrom throwing somewhere around 60 pitches in that outing, though they ultimately elected to cap him at four innings when he pitched so efficiently. That could point to a potential 65-75 pitch count during this week’s start.
The Rangers should get three or four starts from deGrom before the end of the season. They’re not going to be of much significance in the standings (beyond the indirect effect of playing the Mariners, a fringe contender, at least once). Getting deGrom back for a few starts should at least give the pitcher and the front office some comfort going into the offseason. deGrom had battled a handful of arm issues late in his Mets tenure. He only managed six starts and 30 1/3 innings with Texas before suffering the significant elbow injury.
Few players are more important to the Rangers’ hope of a return to contention in 2025. deGrom may still be the best pitcher on the planet when healthy. He was utterly dominant for the Mets when he was able to pitch. He’d carried that form over in his first month in a Texas uniform, working to a 2.67 earned run average while striking out almost 40% of batters faced.
deGrom is going into the third season of a five-year, $185MM free agent deal. He’ll make $40MM next season, followed by successive salaries of $38MM and $36MM through 2027. The Tommy John surgery triggered a conditional team option in his deal for 2028. That’s valued at $20MM, though deGrom could push it to $30MM if he finishes in the top five in Cy Young balloting in any of the next three years.
Scherzer, meanwhile, has been out since the start of August because of a shoulder issue. He’d also missed most of the season’s first half rehabbing offseason back surgery and battling a nerve problem in his throwing hand. Scherzer has been limited to eight starts this season, turning in a 3.89 ERA across 39 1/3 innings. The future Hall of Famer will be a free agent next offseason. Scherzer has already declared he intends to continue pitching; he’ll be one of the top risk/reward plays in the starting pitching class.
Kind of a captain obvious article imo
Kind of a pointless comment, in my opinion.
Explain, make sure to type multiple paragraphs and cite factual evidence based on your claim to support your answer
snmf
“cite factual evidence based on your claim to support your answer”
:sigh:
Literally middle school. A middle school level of education is what’s needed here.
And so many can’t get there
You don’t provide evidence based on your claim
Your claim should be, you know, based on the evidence. And, yes, you should support that. Like you were taught in middle school.
If no one reports the obvious how would we ever know until deGrom just appears on the mound
You should ask for your money back.
World Series here they come!
Excited for Kumar’s debut.
Pretty pumped myself. I remember the draft drama this kid had to endure and his recent meteoric rise back into our periphery is pretty cool.
You won’t see much better stuff from SP than what the Rangers have to offer this Thursday and Friday.
Over/under 1 start before he’s back on the IL?
SN
Over
MLBTR has some of the saddest most negative baseball “fans” around.
Pathetic
deGrom is one of the most injury prone “pitchers” around. He’s a very good pitcher when healthy, when healthy. Unfortunately, his teams have had to pay full amount for no work. Lets hope it is the over.
Stymee
“Unfortunately, his teams have had to pay full amount for no work”
Per FanGraphs, deGrom has produced $340,000,000 in value to this point in his career.
He has been paid less than $340,000,000 to this point in his career. He has been, to this point, a massive bargain.
“$340,000,000..massive bargain”….That’s completely ridiculous. A pitcher who rarely pitches and keeps a lower profile than an ex-mobster in “Witness Protection” produces $340,000,000 in “value” while being sidelined 2/3’s of the time?
I think your post proves that projections, estimates and forecasts are about as reliable and believable as the posts here in the comments section of Trade Rumors.
I could see a World renowned athlete like Ohtani doing that, but the practically anonymous(outside of hardcore baseball circles)Jacob Degrom producing that kind of value is ludicrous in my opinion.
If that were were true every team in MLB would be clamoring to sign Degrom, even as his previous team (Mets) showed zero interest in matching the Ranger’s offer.
“Completely ridiculous” is an accurate description of every comment posted by DodgersBro. He’s just an angry little boy troll that bans everyone who dares to dispute his garbage.
The first 7 seasons of his career he was mostly to fully available. It’s only been the last 3 seasons where he’s truly missed loads of time.
And in those first 7 seasons, he put up incredible numbers
DodgersBro is correct. Using the roughly $8 million per WAR calculation that is most common for determining value, deGrom has generated about $350 million in value.
He’s made ‘only’ $142 million to this point (less then half what he was worth)
mlb f
“I think your post proves that projections, estimates and forecasts are about as reliable and believable”
what I posted has nothing to do with projections, estimates and forecasts.
It;s like you don’t know what the F you are talking about.
Canuck
Right.
Who am I going to believe? The website with a rational methodology that has been laid out so people can understand exactly how they come to their conclusions, or the random MLBTR commenter who “watches the games” and trolls away.?
Tough call
“Who am I going to believe?…website with a rational methodology”…Some people buy into pretty much everything and anything on the internet and MSM and some don’t.
It’s that simple really. There actually was baseball being viewed and analyzed long before projections, forecasts, analytics and estimates my friend.
This makes no sense at all. You admit that analysis was always part of the game, front offices had ways to analyze data and performance, Nolan Ryan was the first 1m pitcher because of his performance, even back then there were ways to figure out he was good and bad.
Now analytics have great improved, but by any measure you want, 1980s or 2024, Degrom is a generational pitcher while on the field.
The claim that he’s been worth far more than he’s been paid it’s a justified claim but a bit misleading because while the calculation of WAR works out to a # figure it’s not really applicable to the first 6 years of a players career since they can’t be free agents.
In his first 6 years he made about 28 million and was about a 28 WAR player, which is insanely underpaid given this value. If it was a free agent contract it would be the best signing of all time. That’s how baseball works, if you’re good young you’re underpaid and the hope is that you’re healthy enough to be overpaid later
mlbf
1) Don’t insult me by calling me your friend. You are not my friend
2) There were also blowhards who thought they knew more than they did about baseball throughout history. Again, I trust in the people who present their information in a rational way with a clear methodology. I don’t trust in people who try to discount rational understanding and a clear methodology in favor of “trust me”.
If you don’t think he’s been worth that, present your reasoning as to why.
Dodger Bro would make a great agent. Or a used car salesman. Baseball agents are there to get the most money for their players. And good ones do.
But in this case, over deGrom’s last three seasons, if you project he will get 4 more starts this year successfully, Jake will have collected $ 105,500,000.00 for 21 starts.
I didn’t misplace the decimal point. One hundred five million five hundred thousand dollars for 21 appearances.
That is why Texas was bidding against itself. Almost the equivalent of paying new car prices for a Maserati with 500,000 hard miles on it just because it’s a Maserati. Great car. Great performance in the past. But keeping it out of the shop for the next five years? It wasn’t new to begin with.
Bro, you are including his first 5 years at team control.. The last 6 years he has had 76 starts combined and was paid 170M.
imjb
“Dodger Bro would make a great agent. Or a used car salesman. ”
Thanks. But I’m not sure that you’re correct. I’m honest in my valuations. Is that a good skill for those positions?
This was the statement that I was responding to
“Unfortunately, his teams have had to pay full amount for no work”
This was my response:
“Per FanGraphs, deGrom has produced $340,000,000 in value to this point in his career.
He has been paid less than $340,000,000 to this point in his career. He has been, to this point, a massive bargain.”
My response was 100% true and 100% relevant
Stymee said “teams”. Plural. He has been a massive bargain when taking his time with BOTH TEAMS into consideration
He has not been a great bargain when looking only at his time with the Rangers.
CG
“Bro, you are including his first 5 years at team control.. The last 6 years he has had 76 starts combined and was paid 170M.”
Yes. He has been a massive bargain overall. That’s what I said
He’s made 187M to date. 170M in his last 6 years for 76 starts.
That’s 12 starts a year , on average, @ 28M a year.
CG
Ok? Cool
“He’s made 187M to date”
And produced $340 million in wins
But, you can take Jordan Lyles and all of his starts if starts are what you care about. Why don’t you figure his cost per start. Maybe that will be more to your liking
I mean, do you think you’re unveiling some unknown information by pointing out that deGrom has been injured?
He was a massive bargain with the Mets and hasn’t produced to his contact with the Rangers
Wow! Stop the presses! You’ve really uncovered something here.
you’re the one that sounds angry here, “big mad” dare I say.
The lengths people will go to defend players is wild, that is a totally made up number.
Patriot
“that is a totally made up number.”
Exactly
The people claiming that he hasn’t been worth $340 million are just making that up.
They haven’t provided any support for how much they think he has been worth. They just say “Nuh uh. Can’t be”. Totally made up.
“You’re not my friend”…Grow up bro. Grow up. You sound like an angry teenager.
Ah DodgerBro cooking up more BS. Wins based on a statistical equation that does not necessarily translate into actual winning.
Hard to win from the IL. Mark that down. It’s better than any fortune cookie you will read.
Your schtick isn’t working. Your childish antics isn’t appealing. Stop talking.
I_h
“BS”
But enough about your comments
If you think he hasn’t produced less than $340 million in value how much do you think he has produced?
A simple question
That you won’t answer
Because you don’t know
Right?
They listed deGrom’s Ks in his rehab starts, so all is right with the world again.
gbs
“They listed deGrom’s Ks in his rehab starts”
Imagine if they posted an article about a player and said “Player A is having a great year with 12 doubles.”
Or, better yet, imagine if some commenter said that about a player.
You’d be one of many to jump on that saying it was a dumb way to talk about a players’ performance.
Posting ERA over 10 minor league rehab innings is worse than that.
The mute option helped tremendously.
Degrom has 1600 strikeouts in 9 seasons, not even 9 full seasons. This guy would have gotten 3000 strikeouts easy if he had stayed healthy…
One could argue that he achieved that high strikeout total by using an unsustainable style of pitching, and had he used a sustainable style of pitching, he wouldn’t have been able to come close to 3000 k’s
If there was a sustainable style of pitching that was successful pitchers wouldnt need to line up for TJ.
The Mark Buerhle era is over.
His style resulted in generational wealth. It was worth it.
Well he didn’t stay healthy and that’s just as much part of the game and pitching in general. Usually a reason for a guy to blow out his arm three times.
Can make the same case for Sale and Darvish.
Just don’t get hurt for 2025! Amazing pitcher whose talent had been stolen away from the game by injuries.
Of course, he will be hurt again at some point next year. I don’t think he’ll ever be able to make more than 20 starts again in a season.
Rubbing my crystal ball
Me – “Eenie Beanie, Chili Beanie. The Spirits are about to Speak!”
My little flying friend – “Ask about the future”
Me – “Spirits, what do you see in the headlines for Saturday?”
Spirits – “DeGrom to undergo MRI after departing Friday’s start.”
My little flying friend – “C’mon spirits! Tell us something we didn’t already guess!!”
When you remember this guy hasn’t pitched a full season since 2019, maybe all the haters are on to something?
They aren’t on to anything, they want to see degrom fail for no reason at all.
Hope he can stick around and pitch in MLB. Still pretty shocking to see what became of him and the other young starters on the mid-2010’s Met teams that included one pennant team in 2015.
MR. AFLAC
“Meanwhile” needs to start the sentence. As a conjunctive adverb, it can’t come in the middle between commas.
Poppycock. Your proscriptive approach to grammar is based on a misconception of the nature of language. The writer used “meanwhile” in a manner entirely consistent with communicating the intended information. Our language is marvelous precisely because of that kind of flexibility.
Are you saying that style guides are prescriptive? “Flexibility” isn’t just license to violate certain rules or, as in this case, create choppy prose that would flow much better if the subject and verb weren’t separated.
Just because it communicates information well enough, it doesn’t make it correct. If you tell me “your bad at grammar,” I know your meaning, but it’s still wrong.
It can and did. Should or shouldn’t is a different discussion. I would think you would understand the difference.
It can’t and shouldn’t.
It shouldn’t but can and did. I read it myself, and so did you.
Splitting subject and verb unnecessarily is going to get marked by any English professor.
Fair point, but if you’re going to these lengths to point out their grammatical errors, it seems fair to point out yours. What can’t and shouldn’t be done are different things.
If you agree that “meanwhile” shouldn’t be used this way, why are you arguing for it?
I’m not arguing for it. I’m arguing your attempt to correct their grammar had its own error.
You said, “it can’t come in the middle between commas.” The fact is, it can, as evidenced by the fact that it did in the sentence you critiqued. You should have used “shouldn’t” instead of “can’t.”
They’ve made many more egregious errors, and I found your pedantic assault on this one amusing enough to challenge.
That’s not a grammatical error… that’s a matter of your own opinion.
Okay, define “can’t” and “shouldn’t.” Because unless you’ve changed their definitions, you’re incorrect.
A grammatical error would be if I said “it don’t come in the middle.” You’re arguing about word choice, not grammar.
Regardless, you’re wrong.
No, you are because you don’t know the difference between diction and grammar.
I “can’t” tell the difference, or I “shouldn’t?”
You can’t tell the difference and you should be able if you’re going to reproof me.
Define can’t and shouldn’t.
Can’t: you are unable to. Shouldn’t: you can, but it’s a bad idea.
You meet the first criteria. You are unable to tell the difference between diction and grammar.
Well, at least you finally admit you are unable to tell the difference between how can’t and shouldn’t should be used.
Is English not your first language? This would explain a lot about your commenting. Because those are the definitions.
Yes, those are the correct definitions, proving you missed “can’t.”
You can’t tell the difference between diction, or word choice if you prefer, and grammar. You are incapable of it.
I can, though perhaps I didn’t and should have.
You don’t know my capabilities, because that’s a wide-ranging subject. However, I do know you misused can’t in this instance.
You certainly did not see the difference above. However, you remain wrong: conjunctive adverbs must start sentences. Don’t split up subject and verb.
So now it’s “must” instead of “can’t.” You were wrong so now you’re changing your story. Are you a politician?
It’s weird how pedantic you’re being when you were calling me out for being pedantic initially. But since I have to explain everything literally to you since you’re that thick: it’s another way of saying the same thing. Example: two can’t come after three. Two must come before three. How old are you, anyway?
I’m just waiting for you to admit you were wrong…
I was never wrong, so keep waiting for something that will never come.
You said something can’t be done that was done. You were wrong.
What was done violates sentence structure rules in multiple stylebooks. It’s wrong.
So in this case, does two wrongs make a right? They broke the rules, and you used “can’t” incorrectly.
I did not. It is against the rules for them to use “meanwhile” in that fashion. It cannot happen and be correct; it is wrong.
You’re trying to change your story again. You said it can’t be done. There was no qualifier of “and be correct.” It was done, therefore it can be done.
If you can admit you made an error (which you probably should), even a small sin of omission of that qualifier, we can (and probably should) be done.
You’re arguing in circles and trying to take things uber literally. It’s very simple here.
I can say that 2+2=5. It was done, therefore it can be done. It can be said. It happened, but it is incorrect. Adding two apples to another two apples doesn’t give you five apples. It can’t be done. It not only can’t be done and be correct, with this qualifier you are so hung up on, but it is impossible.
You’re trying new arguments each time to justify your error, or misstatement at least. (I’m trying to cut you some slack.)
This is a false equivalency. Math is objective, language is much more fluid. 2+2≠5, but if someone says, “I ain’t doin’ good in math class,” we understand that means, “I’m not doing well in math class.”
You created this fiasco by castigating someone for an error while committing one yourself in your complaint. I pointed out the irony, and you won’t admit you also erred.
I’ve tried over and over to give you the opportunity to admit your misapplication of the word can’t, but that seems to be something you can’t do.
I’ve wasted far too much time on this discussion.
You chose to insert yourself and “waste” all this time. Ultimately, the problem was that there was no error. So you’ve spent all this time trying to argue over and over again that the word “can’t” means something it doesn’t.
By your logic, “[a word] can’t be used this way” and “[the same word] shouldn’t be used this way” are the same thing. In your words, we understand what that means, in this case “that” being “can’t.”
can’t ≠ shouldn’t
Not in all contexts. Human beings can’t fly and they shouldn’t fly. Because they don’t have wings.
Just because the results are the same doesn’t mean the words mean the same thing.
While correcting someone else, you incorrectly said meanwhile “can’t come in the middle between commas.”
You continue to try to word yourself out of this reality. If you’d admit “shouldn’t” should have been used, you’ll feel free, maybe free enough to fly!
Didn’t you complain about wasting time on this conversation?
Shouldn’t and can’t can mean the same thing when there are rules. For example, here’s a statement:
“Come on, gbs42. You’re making yourself look worse and worse by acting holier-than-thou with that condescending comment.”
I can’t start that with statement with “come on gbs42” because that fundamentally changes the sentence to something that breaks MLBTR’s commenting rules. I shouldn’t do that, and I can’t do it either because it breaks the rules.
Yes, I’ve been stubbornly wasting my time thinking you’ll stop being obstinate and admit your mistake.
Instead, you doubled down by doing something you said can’t be done…again. You should be able to realize and acknowledge your error, but apparently you can’t.
You continue to stubbornly waste time trying to say something that isn’t an error is an error. You are arguing semantics here. Since you are being miserably literal in a way that no one acting in good faith would do, continuing to act out of pure spite for months now, let’s pick apart this argument you’re making again, before you twist yourself up further in this logical pretzel you’re making.
I can’t say something that violates rules. If I do, there will be consequences. Just because one is capable of doing something, doesn’t mean it can be done. Again, humans can’t fly. Those guys who put wings on their arms in the 19th century jumped off cliffs and said they were flying. But they weren’t; they were falling. Because humans can’t fly. You can’t do something that breaks the laws of physics and nature. Just like you can’t do something that breaks the laws of grammar.
You need to find a hobby.
Boo
Only to be put back onto the DL tomorrow.
DDC
Troll, troll, troll, troll, troll
Do you even like baseball
I can’t recall seeing a single comment from you that wasn’t negative
DodgerTroll stop. Cant recall a single intelligent comment from you and yet you’re here trolling by calling others a troll. Stop talking.
i_h
Not my fault that most of what goes on here is trolling and not insurgent connecting.
I’d love it if there were more basebsll related comments then losers insulting professional baseball players. But the is what MLBTR has fostered
Yeah! Make DeGrom earn that money!