Texas Rangers staff ace Jacob deGrom will be going under the knife for the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
The 34-year-old deGrom, who hasn’t pitched since April 28 due to inflammation in his right elbow, was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday.
However, further examination showed the need for surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, meaning that the oft-injured hurler will be lost for the remainder of this year and possibly all of next season.
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Jacob deGrom fought back tears as he told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:
“This stinks. It’s not ideal. But at least we know what it is now. I want to get it fixed and will set a goal to be back before the end of next year.”
Jacob deGrom had one Tommy John Surgery shortly after being drafted by the New York Mets in 2010. The 10-year major league veteran signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers after nine years with the Mets, who drafted him in the ninth round in 2010.
His time in the Big Apple had become more about how often he was hurt rather than how tremendous he was when healthy. DeGrom started 38 games over his final three seasons in New York.
Jacob deGrom’s nine years with the Mets included countless superb outings. However, his win-loss record never seemed to match the numbers he put up while on the mound. With New York, he went 82-57 with a 2.55 ERA, 0.998 WHIP and 1,614 strikeouts.
In six starts with the Rangers, he was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 30 1/3 innings.
Texas staffmate Nathan Eovaldi has undergone two Tommy John surgeries, having had the procedure done in both 2007 and 2016. Jameson Taillon of the Chicago Cubs also has had two, with Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Toronto Blue Jays and Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers still recovering from their second ligament replacement procedures.
Jacob deGrom’s sterling career torn asunder by injuries
Injuries have cost deGrom what could have been one of the greatest careers in recent history. He was the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner and a four-time NL All-Star.
