Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom is not expecting to sleep well on Thursday night.
DeGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, has always had trouble sleeping before a start throughout his 11-year career. He thinks his nerves will be especially high on Friday when he makes his first MLB start in 503 days against the Seattle Mariners.
“I’ve always had a tough time falling asleep before I pitch, but, you know, hopefully I’ll get some sleep,” DeGrom said. “ … It’s been a long time. I’m excited to be back out there, really looking forward to tomorrow.”
This will be deGrom’s first start since he had Tommy John surgery in April 2023. It will be his second Tommy John surgery, with the first occurring in 2010 when he was in the minor leagues.
Rangers GM Chris Young understands the effort it took for deGrom to return, having experienced challenging rehabs himself during his MLB career.
“You watch them go through the surgery, every day of rehab, and the monotony that comes with that,” Young said. “And then to be back out here and realize all the hard work that they put in to be back out there, it’s just, it’s a fun moment. It really is.”
The Rangers have several exciting starts this week, with highly anticipated rookie pitcher Kumar Rocker making his big league debut on Thursday, and three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer scheduled to pitch on Saturday in his first start since July 30.
