Rangers’ caution with deGrom shouldn’t cause distraction, despite New York outcry
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Jacob deGrom did not pitch Thursday. He did not play catch. He did not field ground balls. He did not cover any bases.
He did, however, speak. With tones of self-awareness.
His long list of injuries is a story. That’s not going away anytime soon.
“After what I’ve dealt with the last couple of years, the last thing you wanted was to come and say, ‘Hey, my left side is a little sore.’ ” he said before the Rangers’ second deGrom-less workout of spring. “I felt when I flew in (Tuesday) it was fine, just a little stiff feeling. And then after relaying that message, they just said they wanted to be smart about this and make sure it’s gone before we push forward.”
He continued. He’d already thrown six bullpens this winter, more than usual. He felt ahead of schedule. When he did have the stiffness, it eased up as he got to working out. The training staff and management wanted to slow play the situation. Whatever made the Rangers feel comfortable, he’d abide. After all, they plunked down $185 million on him.
Also: It felt better on Thursday than it had Wednesday. He said he “didn’t even feel it.” The
Rangers will re-evaluate on Friday. He very possibly could join the group of starters for their next bullpen session Saturday.
“A couple of days on the front end will pay off on the back end,” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “We just want guys to go at a smart pace. We are not going to push guys and hurt them.”
So: All good here, yeah? Nothing to see here, right? Move along.
Yeah, sure.
Not when it’s deGrom, a $185 million free agent contract and, perhaps most of all a guy who left New York for greener, calmer pastures. It will cease to be a story when you pry it from the cold, dead hands of the tabloids.
Just consider this headline from the New York Post Thursday: “Nolan Ryan-esque Justin Verlander is anti-Jacob deGrom.” This from the same place that once gave us this glorious story tag: “Headless body found in topless bar.”
A column from 2,300 miles away raving about Verlander’s first workout with the Mets as deGrom’s replacement read as much like invective over one’s departure as it did heralding the other’s arrival.
DeGrom may throw a ball “better than anyone ever has,” but is also a “part-time pitcher,” it said.
He’s a “comet.” A “flash and then he’s gone.” The difference between deGrom’s contract and Verlander’s was “the best $100 million Mets owner Steve Cohen ever saved.” The column was not authored by Cohen, at least not officially.
Can you imagine if deGrom was still a Met and missed the first workout?
“Uh, I don’t really know,” he said after an awkward chuckle when presented with that very query. “That’s a tough question. But this was part of our talk, too. In season, I would never even have said anything about this. That’s just how careful we’re being with it.”
Maybe he was a comet in New York, but more in this sense: He’s the kind of phenomenon that comes around once in a lifetime. His two Cy Young Awards with the Mets give him one more than Dwight Gooden earned and one fewer than the patron saint of all things in Mets-dom: Tom Seaver.