The injury bug hit Jacob deGrom once again.
The Texas Rangers ace has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation.
DeGrom left his start against the New York Yankees on Friday night with a coach after just 3⅔ innings. It was counted as forearm strain, which is never a good sign.
The Rangers signed deGrom to a high-risk, high-reward deal in the offseason.
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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom throws a pitch to the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a game on April 23, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)
The two-time Cy Young Award winner missed most of his last two seasons with the New York Mets due to various arm injuries. And when deGrom opted out of the final year of his contract, the Rangers rushed to sign him to a five-year, $185 million deal.
DeGrom had one of the best career starts in MLB history. From his MLB debut through his injury-shortened 2021 season, he posted a 2.50 ERA. From 2018 to 2021, he was dominant.
In 91 starts during that span, his ERA was a minuscule 1.94. He earned back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019, finished third in 2020 and, despite only 15 starts in 2021, finished ninth with his 1.08 ERA that season. His 5.38 K/BB ratio is the best in Major League history, and his 0.99 WHIP is the lowest among active starting pitchers.
Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Globe Life Field on April 28, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
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DeGrom, Clayton Kershaw and Greg Maddux are the only pitchers in MLB history to have an ERA of 1.95 or less over a span of 100 starts. The only pitchers with a streak of 80 starts with an ERA below 2.00 and more than 500 strikeouts are deGrom, Kershaw, Hal Newhouser, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax and Pedro Martinez.
Yet in 2021 and 2022 combined, deGrom made just 26 starts, and he’s on the shelf once again with a pitcher’s worst nightmare: injury.
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom throws to a Kansas City Royals batter during the first inning of a game on April 17, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
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DeGrom has a 2.67 ERA, an AL-best 13.4 K/9, and an MLB-best 1.63 FIP. In his first start, he allowed five earned runs in 3⅔ innings, but since then, he’s allowed just four earned runs in 26.2 innings (1.35 ERA).