When healthy Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher in all of baseball. Of course, the key word in that statement is when healthy. Since 2021 it has been the same song and dance with deGrom. He would start a game pitch three to four brilliant innings, then get pulled because of an injury. And the injuries were usually forearm tightness or a sore shoulder. Something that seemed like it would be a major injury, but deGrom said he was fine. Then he make his next start and the cycle would repeat itself. Or he would miss a few weeks then come back, and get hurt again two starts later.
It was the one knock deGrom had against him. Sure he has the potential to be the greatest pitcher baseball has ever seen, but what’s the point of having him if he can’t stay on the field? Now when the Rangers signed deGrom they had hoped, that the days of these weird nagging injuries were in the past. Unfortunately, deGrom luck of avoiding major injury has run out as it was announced he will undergo Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the rest of the 2023 season, and most of the 2024 season. This diagnosis will have a huge impact on the rest of deGrom’s career and legacy.
How Will This Affect the Rest of Jacob deGrom’s Career?
Having Tommy John’s surgery at the age of 34 is tough enough to come back from. But on top of this, it’s the second time deGrom will have Tommy John surgery. He had it back in 2010, right after being drafted by the Mets. Now the earliest deGrom can come back is in August of 2024. This is of course assuming that deGrom doesn’t have any setbacks, which is something you can’t do with deGrom. Based on his history, you have to factor in that there is going to be some sort of setback during his recovery. Honestly don’t expect deGrom to come back before the 2025 season.
So what type of pitcher is deGrom going to be in 2025? Well, he will be 36 years old when the season starts and will turn 37 mid-way through the season. It’s around this time in a player’s career that they begin to regress. Sure deGrom is so talented that a little natural regression would still make him a number one or number two starter. However, couple natural regression with the effects of Tommy John surgery, and there is a very real chance, that deGrom can’t get back to the pitcher he was. That the days of him being one of the best pitchers in the MLB are behind us.
However just because he’s no longer going to be this ace-type pitcher doesn’t mean he can’t be a serviceable pitcher. deGrom could definitely be a good mid-rotation guy. He’ll go out there and give you five to six good innings. Nothing like he was in 2018-19, but someone who you know is going to give you a solid outing.
How Will it Affect Jacob deGrom’s Legacy?
The biggest impact that this diagnosis is going to have is on deGrom legacy. It fully cements him as one of the biggest what-ifs in MLB history. There was a hope that when he went to the Rangers, deGrom won’t miss any more time. That he would be able to stay on the field and go back to his 2018-19. As stated before his time in Texas has been more of the same. Now all we can do about deGrom is wonder how good he could’ve been.
How good could he have been if he stayed on the field? Would that 2021 season be the greatest pitching season in MLB history? Could he have broken MLB records? If so how many? How many more Cy Youngs could he have won? This is how we are going to look at Jacob deGrom’s career now. We are going to forget everything he did, and only look at what could’ve been.
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