Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom has a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery, general manager Chris Young announced on Tuesday.
DeGrom hasn’t pitched since April 28, when he exited early because of injury concerns for the second time in a span of three starts. He was moved to the 60-day injured list on Monday after he didn’t improve “as quickly as we had hoped” after five bullpen sessions while trying to work his way back, according to Young.
Young didn’t specify if deGrom would be undergoing Tommy John surgery or another procedure to repair the UCL.
“This stinks,” said an emotional deGrom, according to the Dallas Morning News. “It’s not ideal. But at least we know what it is now. I want to get it fixed and will set a goal to be back before the end of next year.”
The Rangers signed deGrom in free agency to a 5-year, $185 million deal after he had played his first nine big league seasons with the New York Mets. He was limited by injuries to 156 1/3 innings over 26 starts his last two years in New York.
DeGrom had Tommy John surgery in 2010 during his rookie year.
DeGrom had a career-low 1.08 ERA over 92 innings during the 2021 season before missing the final three months with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow. He didn’t make his first big league start last year until Aug. 2 after being shut down late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.
Texas has won all six games started by deGrom (2-0), but the right-hander has pitched only 30 1/3 innings. He has a 2.67 ERA with 45 strikeouts and four walks. He threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the New York Yankees on April 28 before leaving that game because of discomfort in his arm.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.