AROUND THE HORN
Rangers: The Rangers transferred Jacob deGrom to the 60-day injured list Monday, pushing back the return of the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner until at least late June. 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 placed on the 15-day IL the following day after an MRI showed inflammation in his right elbow. Another MRI and additional testing are now planned. The transfer to the 60-day IL makes June 28 the earliest he could be activated. “We don’t see anything before that as a possibility,” general manager Chris Young said. “It hasn’t improved maybe as quickly as we had hoped.” DeGrom was back with the team Monday after going home to Florida for the birth of his third child. He flew there after a bullpen session Wednesday in Detroit, which was his fifth since getting hurt. The Rangers signed deGrom to a fiveyear, $185 million contract in December after he’d played his first nine big league seasons with the Mets. He was limited by injuries to 156 ⅓ innings over 26 starts the last two seasons. The AL West-leading Rangers have won all six games started by deGrom (2-0), but the righthander has pitched only 30 ⅓ innings. He has a 2.67 ERA with 45 strikeouts and four walks. He threw 3 ⅔ scoreless innings against the Yankees on April 28 before leaving that game because of discomfort in his arm.
MLB: Albert Pujols was hired by MLB as a special 13-19 assistant to Commissioner Rob Manfred. The retired slugger will consult on issues related to his native Dominican Republic, among other areas. He also will start work Tuesday as an MLB Network analyst. Pujols hit 703 HRs, fourth behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714), and his 2,218 RBIs are second to Aaron’s 2,297. Pujols hit .296 in an MLB career spanning from 2001-22 with the Cardinals, Angels and Dodgers, and his 3,384 hits are among the top 10. Several former players are working for MLB. Joe Torre and CC Sabathia are special assistants, and Cal Ripken Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr. are senior advisers. MLB’s staff includes senior VP for on-field operations Raul Ibañez, senior VP for diversity, equity and inclusion Billy Bean, VP for on-field strategy Joe Martinez and baseball operations staff Gregor Blanco, Rajai Davis, Adam Jones, Dan Otero and Bo Porter.
Extra innings: Shane McClanahan (9-1) pitched six innings of five-hit ball to earn his major league-leading ninth win and the Rays beat the host Red Sox 4-1. In the makeup of Friday’s rainout, the Rays beat the Red Sox for a third straight game and seventh time in eight tries this year . ... Braves RHP Michael Soroka, who posted an 8.38 ERA in two starts in his comeback from two right Achilles tendon tears, was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move came after the former All-Star allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 ⅔ innings in the Braves’ 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday.