Texas Rangers already experiencing the wrong side of Jacob deGrom's career

Injuries stole away the last two seasons of Jacob deGrom’s career. He pitched half a season in 2021 and 2022. It’s one of the reasons why the New York Mets didn’t feel the need to offer him the huge deal he eventually got from the Texas Rangers.

Having already experienced the lows of the deGrom experience, one exclusively having to do with his injury track record these last two years, the team is looking wise for letting him go. deGrom is already experiencing tightness. And while it is reportedly no major concern for the Rangers, Mets fans know better than to think this is anything minor.

The Mets one, Rangers nothing in the Jacob deGrom saga

It’s going to be hard to ignore what Jacob deGrom does for the rest of his career. Months have passed since he officially left the Mets for the Rangers and yet I think he’ll fall into a special category reserved for the most interesting people associated with the franchise in recent years.

Noah Syndergaard. Yoenis Cespedes. Matt Harvey. They were all larger than life at times. Each had moments of triumph in New York. All left with some sort of tug against the perfection they seemed to have at one point.

deGrom is at an even more elite level than those three. Syndergaard never did live up to expectations fully. Cespedes’ time at the top was much shorter than it feels. Harvey burned out quickly after such a promising start to his career.

We can now lump deGrom into this same list with a new city and team nickname scrolled across his chest. Meanwhile, pessimistic Rangers fans are biting their fingers early while checking in if Arizona really does get cold at this time of the year to cause this sort of an ailment.

To their credit, the Rangers are well-prepared for this bad news. They actually have six big league starters. Along with deGrom, they added Andrew Heaney, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jake Odorizzi this offseason. Martin Perez and Jon Gray are returning as well. They won’t miss a beat if anyone lands on the IL. They’ve got the arms to get through a season much like the Mets last season without deGrom. It’s not what they had in mind, however, when they agreed to give him $185 million.

deGrom is no longer a Mets but I think many will agree we wish him well. The Rangers are no threat to the Mets at the moment. They are, however, low-key setting up to face the Amazins in a future World Series.

Jacob deGrom vs. Justin Verlander in Game 1 and Max Scherzer vs. rookie sensation Kumar Rocker in Game 2 of the World Series. Who else can’t wait?