Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom is expected to make his season debut either Tuesday or Wednesday after skipping his scheduled start Saturday with neck stiffness.
After he was physically limited Saturday, deGrom threw from120 feet Sunday. The Rangers switched to left-hander Jacob Latz against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and ended up with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings.
The Rangers are set to start a three-game series on the road against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. Texas manager Skip Schumaker said deGrom is expected to pitch in the latter part of the series.
deGrom played catch and threw up to a distance of 120 feet on Sunday.
“We’ll see how it goes (Monday),” deGrom told reporters. “It’s definitely a big improvement from yesterday.”
The 37-year-old deGrom is coming off a season when he made 30 starts for the first time since 2019. He was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year for his efforts.
After missing most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons after Tommy John surgery, the two-time Cy Young Award winner returned to make three brief starts for Texas in September 2024. He went 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA last year while earning his fifth career All-Star selection.
