Kyle Higashioka compares Jacob deGrom to Yankees legend, per Rangers insider
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom is scheduled to make his spring training debut this Friday against the Colorado Rockies. The report for the pitcher coming out of spring training camp is inspiring with many expecting deGrom to hit his Cy Young caliber once again in 2025.
Kyle Higashioka, who signed a two-year contract with the Texas Rangers that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season, has caught a promising bullpen session from deGrom. He found it eerily similar to Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera, who was known for his pinpoint accuracy.
On Tuesday, during his appearance on MLB Network, Rangers insider Evan Grant drew a legendary comparison from Higashioka, who has caught Rivera from behind the plate during his stint with the Yankees.
"You feel a sense of awe, and then you go talk to someone like Kyle Higashioka, and he’s saying, 'You know, I've only caught one guy with that kind of command. This is the first day of spring, and I've only caught one guy with that kind of command. It was Mariano Rivera—except doing it 10 miles an hour faster,'" Grant said.
"So there's just a sense of awe—not just for the media and the fans, but for his teammates and staff as well."
Rangers insider reveals plans for Jacob deGrom in 2025
Rangers insider Evan Grant suggests Jacob deGrom seems fully healthy entering this spring training.
"He looks 100% healthy," Grant said. "Just in the few times I've been around him in the clubhouse and talked to him, he seems much more relaxed, at ease, and confident with where he's at."
Grant also added that Rangers manager Bruce Bochy will likely take a cautious approach to how he handles deGrom's workload this summer.
"He'll make his first start, as you said, this weekend," Grant added. "He’ll probably build up to about four innings in Arizona, and then when he makes his first start—which Bruce Bochy said yesterday would be at the end of the rotation—he’ll be at five innings. That way, the Rangers can space out his starts a little more early in the year."
The last time Jacob deGrom started more than 15 games was in 2019 when he made 32 starts for the New York Mets and won the second straight Cy Young. Following that from one injury to another injury, deGrom has remained a fringe starter, leading to the Mets letting him walk in free agency.
The Rangers hope that the investment they made in deGrom (five-year, $185 million contract in Dec. 2022) could finally bear fruits in 2025.