Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom faced live hitters for the third time in recent weeks on Saturday and said he feels ready to start a rehab assignment next week, aiming to pitch for the Texas Rangers for the first time since June 2023.
“My arm feels great except now it’s just been, what, how many months? Fourteen?” said deGrom, 36, who threw about 45 pitches over three innings. “You’ve got your guys (teammates) in there. You go face other guys, and I think that’ll help a little bit.”
If he begins his rehab assignment next week, it would likely be with Double-A Frisco.
“It looks like Jacob’s ready to go. We’ll see how he comes out of this,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’ll be starting rehab here soon.”
Rangers pitcher Jon Gray also faced hitters for three innings on Saturday, and Bochy said he’s ready to return to the starting rotation.
Texas signed deGrom to a $185 million, five-year contract before the 2023 season. He pitched only 30 1/3 innings before the end of April and had surgery on June 12. He was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
DeGrom said on Saturday that he was frustrated with not being able to keep his pitches down, which he attributed to not getting full extension.
“That’s the last thing to come,” he said.
He didn’t estimate how many innings he’d like to pitch after returning but acknowledged that simply getting back into big league games this season is important.
“Get out there this year, kind of treat it like a normal offseason, and get ready for next year,” he said.
