{"id":83556,"date":"2024-08-19T21:51:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T01:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=83556"},"modified":"2024-08-19T21:51:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T01:51:03","slug":"rangers-jacob-degrom-begin-rehab-assignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/19\/rangers-jacob-degrom-begin-rehab-assignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-Time Cy Young Winner To Start Rehab Assignment This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Rangers ace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/degroja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacob deGrom<\/a> will begin a rehab assignment this week, according to Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. deGrom expects to start for Double-A Frisco on Thursday, marking his first step toward returning to the mound after missing over a calendar year due to Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jacob deGrom says he will likely make his first rehab start Thursday night for <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RidersBaseball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@RidersBaseball<\/a>. Plans to throw a bullpen session Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffWilsonTXR\/status\/1825634958892769778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While the Rangers&#8217; postseason hopes are all but sunk thanks to a poor offense, deGrom&#8217;s return will be looked upon favorably by fans throughout the league. Despite the odds, the two-time Cy Young Award winner&#8217;s comeback is a significant development for the future of both deGrom and the Rangers.<\/p>\n<h2>Jacob deGrom To Begin Rehab Assignment on Thursday<\/h2>\n<p>The Rangers reportedly want deGrom to make four starts on his rehab assignment. The righty has looked impressive during <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/19\/rangers-jacob-degrom-injury-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">his bullpen sessions<\/a>. However, Texas will surely take his rehab slowly. With the team sliding out of postseason contention, there&#8217;s little need to rush deGrom&#8217;s return from his second Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jacob deGrom throwing another live BP\/sim game\/whatever we\u2019re calling facing hitters these days <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IEF3O4sD23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/IEF3O4sD23<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dave Sessions (@davesessions) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davesessions\/status\/1824887006008357179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Thursday&#8217;s start will represent deGrom&#8217;s first game action since he made his sixth and final start last season on April 28. His overall results were pretty good, as the righty posted a 2.57 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 30 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n<p>The strong start to deGrom&#8217;s season came to a quick halt as right elbow inflammation sent him to the injured list. His future immediately became murky, and few were surprised when he eventually needed surgery.<\/p>\n<p>Arm issues became frequent during the final years of deGrom&#8217;s tenure with the New York Mets. That said, the Rangers still decided to sign him to a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2022\/12\/02\/jacob-degrom-texas-rangers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">massive contract<\/a> after the 2022 season. Though the organization knew a serious arm injury was possible, the Rangers surely hoped it would come later in the deal, if at all.<\/p>\n<h3>deGrom&#8217;s Future in Texas<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Rangers could be far from competitive by the time Jacob deGrom returns this season. So, one may ask, why not hold him out until 2025?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a few reasons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it would mean a lot to him to go into the offseason and know he\u2019s ready to go.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Uu1LCH9oFx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/Uu1LCH9oFx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McFarland_Shawn\/status\/1825201920539025597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Texas still managed to win its first-ever World Series title last season without deGrom. However, the ace represented a key part of the team&#8217;s plans in 2024. The Rangers entered the season expecting deGrom, fellow multi-Cy Young winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/scherma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Scherzer<\/a>, and veteran\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mahlety01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Mahle<\/a> to return in the second half and bolster the rotation ahead of the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>While that plan has not worked out, deGrom starting a rehab assignment is a great sign for the Rangers. Texas will see <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/12\/rangers-have-new-injury-to-nathan-eovaldi\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">multiple starting pitchers<\/a> enter free agency following this season. If deGrom can finish 2024 healthy and have a normal offseason, the 2025 Rangers rotation would benefit greatly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom will begin a rehab assignment this week, according to Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. deGrom expects to start for Double-A Frisco on Thursday, marking his first step toward returning to the mound after missing over a calendar year due to Tommy John surgery. Jacob deGrom says he will likely make [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4683,"featured_media":83572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1071,35],"tags":[6273,79,1680],"class_list":["post-83556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rangers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-jacob-degrom","tag-max-scherzer","tag-tyler-mahle"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}