Rangers are holding their breath as potential Jacob deGrom injury threatens to derail playoff hopes

All season, it's felt as if the Texas Rangers have been stuck in neutral. Every time the team surpasses the .500 mark and seems poised to separate itself from the rest of the AL West, something stalls out, and the club falls back. Recently, it has been the offensive ineptitude since Josh Jung went down with a calf injury that has been the biggest culprit for the Rangers' struggles.

Last night against the Los Angeles Angels, something even more threatening occurred. Jacob deGrom was pulled after just two innings with right triceps fatigue. We'll have to wait for more testing to be done in order to find out the severity of the injury, but the initial sound of things isn't good.

The 38-year-old battled hip/glute soreness a little more than a month ago and was likely saved from an IL stint by the All-Star break, which allowed Texas to shuffle the rotation a bit and give him even more rest. However, that might not have been an issue that fully went away, and with this new concern thrown on top, the Rangers could be staring down the reality of a very bleak future.

deGrom entered last night's action just five strikeouts shy of 2,000 for his career. Had he accomplished that feat, he would have become the second-fastest pitcher in MLB history by innings pitched to reach that mark. Instead, we're left worrying about when he can pitch again.

A prolonged absence for Jacob deGrom might effectively end the Rangers' playoff hopes

When deGrom invoked his no-trade clause at the trade deadline, he made it clear that he not only wanted to stay in Arlington, but also wanted to win with the Rangers. The veteran ace was robbed of the chance to truly help Texas hoist the Commissioner's Trophy in 2023, as he had undergone Tommy John surgery earlier in the year, so his desire to truly be part of winning as a Ranger was understandable.

For that to happen, though, several key things need to occur. Chief among them are the Rangers' need to stay healthy and the necessity of deGrom pitching like an ace down the stretch. Well, with Nathan Eovaldi going on the IL earlier this week, and Josh Jung showing no improvement in his quest to heal, they're failing the test of staying healthy. If deGrom has to go on the IL, the Rangers will also be robbed of their ace down the stretch.

This could throw the rotation into an interesting predicament. On the one hand, Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery have come back from their respective rehabs from Tommy John surgery. On top of that, Jack Leiter has begun his own rehab assignment and should return soon.

On the flip side, deGrom and Eovaldi can reach levels that these other guys can't. deGrom, when things are really clicking, can still show flashes of that Cy Young-caliber ability that made him one of the game's best pitchers for so long. Eovaldi's penchant for stepping up in big moments rightfully earned him the moniker "Big Game Nate."

So while Bradford has looked good in his two starts back after a nearly two-year layoff, he doesn't possess the same ceiling. And while Montgomery was a critical piece for Texas in 2023, he pitched to a 6.23 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024 and has now allowed seven earned runs over six innings pitched since being activated from the IL.

Throw in the fact that Kumar Rocker has a 6.10 ERA since July 1, as well as the fact that MacKenzie Gore has been severely inconsistent all season long, and all this depth doesn't seem as reassuring as one might think.

We'll pump the brakes here and say that we don't yet know if this is a serious injury. We'll have to be patient and await further word from the team. But if it does prove to be something that keeps deGrom out for any extended period of time, it could be the death knell for the Rangers' playoff hopes.

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