Jacob deGrom will miss his scheduled start on Wednesday in Kansas City, fueling worries about his durability for the Texas Rangers.
Despite a career-high workload this season, deGrom had avoided missing starts due to injury or fatigue until now. However, Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young revealed on Tuesday that the 37-year-old right-hander is sidelined with shoulder fatigue and will skip his upcoming start.
This development adds to a rotation already marked by injury-related absences in 2025. While it’s normal for pitchers to occasionally miss time, deGrom’s injury history makes this particular case more alarming for the Rangers and their fans.
Heavy Workload Catches Up to deGrom
deGrom is enjoying something of a renaissance season, having thrown 140 1/3 innings—the most since his Cy Young-winning 2019 campaign with the Mets. So far in 24 starts, he boasts a 10-5 record with a 2.76 ERA, 140 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.93.
Though deGrom wanted to continue pitching, Texas prioritized his long-term health over short-term gains. Team doctors cleared him after examination, confirming the issue as normal fatigue and recommending a skipped start. Young emphasized that the team is protecting deGrom after his heavy workload and the success he’s had this year, stating, “Jacob wanted to keep going. We took it out of his hands.”
Does This Stir Buyers’ Remorse?
Since joining the Rangers before the 2023 season, deGrom has only appeared in 33 games due to injury setbacks. He was shut down early in 2023 after suffering a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery. He made a limited comeback late last season, and 2025 has been his best showing since 2019.
While many acknowledge deGrom as possibly the best pitcher in baseball when healthy, his injury history made some skeptical about Texas committing $175 million to him. The Rangers managed to win their first World Series without him, largely due to solid pitching performances by Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery, which helped save Chris Young’s job.
This season, deGrom’s healthy return looked like a masterstroke, leading one of the league’s strongest rotations. But now, with this latest injury, the Rangers face uncertainty once again. The hope remains that he will be ready for his next outing, but with deGrom, only time will tell
