Slow and steady might be the race, if the race involves Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and pitcher Jacob deGrom. At the beginning of Spring Training, Bochy remained confident in deGrom starting.
Now, he’s taking a different approach. While the Rangers ace is coming back from Tommy John surgery, Bochy wants his pitcher to be in pristine shape.
On the Foul Territory show, the manager rationalized his thought process about deGrom’s availability.
“If we have to skip a start or put him on the IL to keep him fresh, we’ll do that,” Bochy said.
During his two seasons with Texas, deGrom has only pitched in nine games. In both years, he ended those respective seasons early due to injury.
Bochy doesn’t want to take that chance with his star pitcher. After a disappointing 78-84 record, the expectation is to win. After all, the Rangers won the 2023 World Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The standard is winning, and in a 162-game season, there are sometimes drastic measures to take. One of those could be keeping deGrom until he is fully ready.
Bruce Bochy gave an unclear update for Rangers’ Jacob deGrom
After giving a significant update at the beginning of March, Bochy quickly turned the table. However, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
deGrom has only played nine games over the past two seasons. Considering that the Rangers are aiming to win another World Series, having him back is a must.
As a result, whatever measures need to be taken, will be necessary. Plus, Bochy has dealt with his barrage of injury-riddled pitchers in his managerial career.
For example, Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain were both fantastic pitchers for the San Francisco Giants. Despite their pitching prowess, both were injuries, especially Lincecum.
While deGrom has talked about throwing slower as a key to his return, Bochy feels the same way. Reducing his velocity and commanding more breaks and movement on his pitches will be the factor.
Since beginning his career, the former CY Young winner is known for his velocity. At this point in his career, however, it might be worth reducing it, so he can play in more games.
Plus, the Rangers will need as much of their star as they can have. Heading into the final weeks of Spring Training, the mantra will likely be the same between the pitcher and manager.
Slow and steady wins the race.
