Rangers’ Jacob deGrom exits start early with wrist soreness

The baseball world has seen entirely too little of Jacob deGrom over the past few years, and now it appears there’s a chance the Texas Rangers ace could be on the shelf again. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was working on a no-hitter through four innings on Monday night against the Kansas City Royals when he was abruptly pulled from the game with what the team is calling right wrist soreness.

It would seem to be a huge relief that the issue isn’t related to deGrom’s arm or shoulder or even the side soreness that delayed him back in Spring Training — and certainly Texas has every reason to be overly cautious with its $185-million ace — but still, the fact that he was feeling enough discomfort to come out of a no-hitter isn’t a good sign. The team will presumably offer a more specific diagnosis and potential timetable once they run more tests.

deGrom had a bumpy first start as a Ranger, allowing five runs in just 3.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day, but since then he’s been, well, Jacob deGrom: He struck out 11 over six innings of one-run ball against the Baltimore Orioles, then fanned nine Royals over seven innings in a win last week. The 34-year-old looked every bit like what Texas paid for when it signed him to that massive five-year deal over the winter and was a big part of the reason why the team entered play Monday atop the AL West at 9-6.

Of course, ability has never been the question with deGrom — availability has, at least of late. The righty hasn’t been able to clear 100 innings in either of the last two seasons, with elbow inflammation costing him the second half of 2021 and a stress fracture in his shoulder holding him out until August of 2022. He also previously underwent Tommy John surgery as a Minor Leaguer back in 2010.