Jacob deGrom injury scare comes at the worst possible moment for Rangers

This weekend's series against the Houston Astros is a prime opportunity for the Texas Rangers to make a statement. The Rangers' final series before the All-Star break could buy them some breathing room in the AL West race if they can make a statement against their in-state rival. Even better, if Texas takes care of business, it could also benefit from the Seattle Mariners having a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in the American League.

Unfortunately, the latest Jacob deGrom news might throw a wrench in the Rangers' plans. Word came out following deGrom's latest start on July 7 that the ace right-hander was dealing with hip and leg pain. Now, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News is reporting that deGrom won't make his scheduled start on Sunday, July 12, with a hip/glute strain and that an IL stint isn't out of the question.

Jacob deGrom's hip injury has short-term and potential long-term implications for the Rangers

The Rangers were already behind the eight ball with Jacob Latz being declared unavailable until Sunday at the earliest after throwing 41 pitches in the Rangers' thrilling rollercoaster win last night against the Los Angeles Angels.

Compounding the issue, Texas was already set to run the weakest part of its rotation in the first two games of the series against Houston, with Cal Quantrill taking the ball against Astros ace Hunter Brown tonight, and Kumar Rocker going up against Houston's most consistent starter this season, Peter Lambert, tomorrow.

Sunday was the game that figured to truly favor the Rangers. The Astros still have not declared a starter for the matchup after demoting struggling starter Mike Burrows to Triple-A earlier this week. Now, it's a TBA toss-up.

The frustrating thing for Texas is that every time it feels as if they're poised for a run, it's two steps forward, one step back. This is part of the reason why some have cautioned the Rangers against buying aggressively at the trade deadline.

With a squad at full health and a couple of savvy additions, it's easy to look at Texas as a legitimate contender, but with Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, and now potentially deGrom spending time on the IL, it seems as if that formidable version of the club will never actually appear.

Moreover, the Rangers' rotation could be in big trouble if deGrom needs to land on the IL. Jack Leiter is already out until late August in the best-case scenario, MacKenzie Gore has been a massive disappointment, Nathan Eovaldi has had a couple of injury scares that fortunately didn't amount to anything, Kumar Rocker struggles with consistency, and Cal Quantrill is nothing more than a spot starter.

The big lesson here is that when you rely on injury-prone players as the foundation of your team, you're playing with fire. We'll have to hope that the respite the All-Star break provides is all the rest deGrom needs to recover, because if not, losing an opportunity to make a statement against Houston is the least of the Rangers' concerns.

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