"Jacob deGrom looked just terrific" - Manager Chris Young impressed with Rangers star's rehab start & near return to majors
Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young was impressed with Jacob deGrom's first rehab start. The ace pitched for the team's Double-A affiliate Frisco on Thursday.
This was the first time deGrom had stepped on the mound since having UCL repair surgery in 2023. He pitched the first two innings, conceding one run, with two strikeouts, and also clocked a 100 mph pitch.
Chris Young seemed ecstatic about deGrom's performance. He seemed optimistic that the pitcher might not be far from making a major league return.
"Well, there's no specific hard timeline yet," Young said on Sunday. "Jacob's making another rehab start on Tuesday (for) our Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock. I visited his game a few nights ago in Frisco, at our Double-A affiliate, and he looked just terrific. It looked like the old Jacob deGrom.
"And what I saw, the stuff I knew was gonna be there, what I saw was a player who was comfortable, who was happy, who was smiling, who was just excited to be back out there. He was no longer worried about his health. ... I saw a pitcher who was out there, just focused on making good pitches and getting the hitter out and competing.
"And for me, that was what I wanted to see. I'm so happy for him. He's worked so hard to be in this position. ... He's not far away from rejoining the major league team. We'll see how the next outing goes and then really map out a responsible way for him to pitch through September, to get his feet wet back in the major leagues and then be strong and ready to go for 2025."
Jacob deGrom reflects on his performance in the first rehab assignment
Jacob deGrom opened up on his first rehab assignment for the team's Double-A affiliate Frisco. He said that he was happy to have pitched two decent innings after being on the mound for the first time in almost a year.
“You go through live BPs, that’s one thing, but having a game setting, getting out there, feeling good, that was the most important thing," deGrom said. "It felt really good. I know it’s still a work in progress. Like, the location, just left a couple fastballs up. Slider was good; changeup was good. It’s always a work in progress."
Although the Rangers are almost out of the postseason race this season, getting deGrom back would be an advantage for the team's rotation as he would make a great pair with rookies Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker in 2025.