Jacob deGrom hits 98.7 mph in solid return from Tommy John surgery

Jacob deGrom is back, and that can only mean some very fast pitches were thrown on Friday.

The two-time Cy Young winner made his return to the Texas Rangers in a 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners, striking out four and allowing four hits in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He hit 98.7 mph on his first strikeout:

On a pitch-by-pitch level, it was still an impressive showing for deGrom, who was limited to 61 pitches after throwing 49 in his final rehab start at Triple-A.

While the heat was a bit under the triple digits he would regularly hit at his best, he got 10 whiffs on 31 total swings and didn’t throw a fastball slower than 96 mph. Of his 61 pitches, 31 were sliders and 26 were fastballs.

It was a good start for the Rangers, but a three-run homer from Julio Rodriguez in the eighth inning gave the Mariners a 5-4 win.

Jacob deGrom is pitching to be ready for 2025

The Rangers will want to increase the 36-year-old’s workload at a gradual pace, especially with the 2025 season much more important than 2024 at this point. Texas is 7.5 games back from the final AL wild-card spot at 71-77, with four other teams in between them and 14 games to play.

Reigning World Series MVP Corey Seager is already out for the season due to sports hernia surgery.

Winning the World Series last season obviously softens the disappointment, but the Rangers were likely hoping for more than about two months of abbreviated work when they signed deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract after the 2022 season. While a healthy deGrom might still be the best pitcher baseball — and that is by no means in a guarantee anymore — the team was well aware he had injury concerns given that he hadn’t thrown more than 100 innings since 2019.

deGrom still gives the Rangers a strong rallying point for 2025, though. The team still has much of the talent that helped them win in 2023, but it struggled with injuries and inconsistency throughout the season.

A good outcome for Texas now is for deGrom to keep pitching, stretch out until he’s approaching a full starter’s workload and show off some gas along the way. Friday was a good step.