Jacob deGrom won’t start Sunday for the Texas Rangers, sidelined by a mild left glute strain that surfaced during Tuesday’s outing, according to a report by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News.
Texas hasn’t, as of Friday night, decided whether the right-hander needs a trip to the injured list, leaving the Rangers’ rotation plans in question just as the trade deadline approaches.
Texas has leaned on the 38-year-old deGrom as perhaps its steadiest arm through an up-and-down season, and any extended absence forces the front office to weigh rotation depth against the roster moves that typically define late July.
DeGrom exited Tuesday’s start against the Los Angeles Angels after five innings and 80 pitches, having allowed two runs. What was first described as a hip issue has since been narrowed down, manager Skip Schumaker told reporters, as reported by MLB Trade Rumors.
“Anything with a hip, or lower half, or arm, you’re definitely concerned. We had a conversation with him, and the way he’s feeling today is better, but you never know until a couple more days of rehab and how he feels,” Schumaker said, as quoted by the media outlets.
Jacob deGrom’s Long Injury History
The glute strain is only the latest entry in a catalog of physical setbacks that stretches back to before deGrom ever threw a major league pitch. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2010 after a partial UCL tear at Stetson University, then battled rotator cuff tendinitis in 2014 and ulnar nerve surgery in 2016.
Elbow, hip, hamstring and shoulder ailments chipped away at his availability from 2018 through 2022, and a second Tommy John procedure in 2023 limited him to six starts in his first year with Texas. He managed just three outings in 2024 before finally stringing together a full, healthy campaign in 2025 with 30 starts and 172 2/3 innings, his heaviest workload since 2019.
This season has brought new scares in smaller doses â a scratch for neck stiffness before his 2026 debut, knee soreness in April, and now the glute issue in July. Through it all, deGrom has reached the 100-inning mark in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2019, posting a 3.49 ERA and a strikeout rate near 30 percent across 18 starts.
Those numbers don’t match deGrom’s peak with the New York Mets â the team that drafted him in the ninth round in 2010 â but at 38 they represent something just as valuable: durability, however interrupted.
Texas Rangers Weigh Rotation Options Without deGrom
Texas is already missing right-hander Jack Leiter, out with a significant ankle injury that opened a rotation spot for journeyman Cal Quantrill. Should deGrom miss more than Sunday’s turn, the Rangers could summon pitching prospect Jose Corniell, who has one big-league appearance to his name, or lean on veteran lefty Jordan Montgomery, who has made four rehab starts while working back from his own elbow injury.
None of it changes what deGrom has already built. The 38-year-old right-hander carries a career record of 103-70 with a 2.63 ERA, a 0.988 WHIP and 1,973 strikeouts across 1,640 1/3 innings and 266 starts, according to Baseball-Reference’s career pitching log. His resume includes two NL Cy Young Awards, in 2018 and 2019, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year honor, five All-Star selections and the 2025 AL Comeback Player of the Year award.
DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers before the 2023 season, a contract that runs through 2027 with a mutual option for 2028. Health, more than performance, has always been the variable. This latest glute strain is another test of just how much remains in one of the most dominant right arms of his generation.
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