Rangers big-money ace to undergo another Tommy John surgery

It seems the New York Mets really did make the right decision when it came to not paying Jacob deGrom this past winter.

The Texas Rangers announced on Tuesday that deGrom will undergo another Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and is going to miss the remainder of the 2023 season. DeGrom previously had Tommy John surgery in 2010 when he was still a prospect coming up through the Mets system.

He has not pitched since April 28. 

Tuesday's news is a crushing development for the Rangers, who had huge expectations for him this season after signing him to a five-year, $185 million deal in free agency. 

Injuries have completely sidetracked deGrom's career over the past four years, limiting him to just 44 starts since the start of the 2020 season.

The Rangers were not deterred by that and still went full-steam ahead on signing deGrom. Early on it looked like they were going to get a promising return on that investment as the 35-year-old righty was 2-0 in his first six starts with a 2.67 ERA.

When deGrom has been healthy, he has been one of the best right-handed starting pitchers of his era and a constant Cy Young contender, winning the award in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019. 

After allowing deGrom to walk in free agency, the Mets signed veteran Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal.

Even though Verlander has struggled at times in the early going with the Mets (while also dealing with his own injury issues this season), the shorter term on his contract, as well as the fact he is still pitching this season, is proving to be a much better investment for the Mets.

The Rangers have one of the best records in the American League at 39-20 entering play on Tuesday, and have still managed to go 24-9 since deGrom last pitched. So they are used to playing — and winning — without him.

Still, his absence does leave a huge hole in their rotation and takes away what they were hoping to be a major part of their 2023 roster. Given how good they have been, there might be some added pressure to make a major move to add more pitching depth before the trade deadline. 

It also creates some long-term issues and concerns for the Rangers given deGrom's age (he will be 36 the next time he is able to pitch in a major league game) and his recent injury history. It certainly creates the potential for this deal to be very regrettable for the Rangers.