Attempting to defend the first World Series championship in franchise history was never going to be easy for the Texas Rangers, particularly with three of their most important (and highest paid) starters opening the year on the injured list.
Without Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom or Tyler Mahle on the mound to start the year, the Rangers limped to a 36-40 record, well behind an American League Wild Card berth. Missing that trio, which is earning a collective $68 million this season, the pitching staff has been middling among MLB in ERA, WHIP and total strikeouts. But with their healthy return, the Rangers still have a chance to repeat their success from last season.
Max Scherzer Climbs Strikeout List In Return For Rangers
The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the New York Mets just before the 2023 trade deadline and he exercised a $43.3 million player option that now sees him earning $22.5 million in his age-39 season (and the Mets are on the hook for most of his salary).
He pitched in Game 3 of the 2023 World Series for the Rangers before leaving with a back injury after three innings and subsequently undergoing surgery. Last week, he returned to the mound, racking up four strikeouts and giving up just one hit in five innings in a win over the Kansas City Royals.
“Everything from a baseball standpoint was telling me to go back out there,” Scherzer said following the win. “I’m pitching well, I’m throwing the ball well. I just don’t know how I’m going to recover from this.”
It’s far from guaranteed that Scherzer will be able to continue as a significant contributor for the Rangers through the rest of the season, but his return to the mound should be encouraging. He tied Greg Maddux with 3,371 career strikeouts, the 11th most in MLB history and a reminder of the capabilities that earned him a $130 million contract in 2021.
“If the Texas Rangers are going to mount any meaningful defense of their World Series title, Max Sherzer will have to be a significant part of it,” Gabe Lacques wrote for USA Today. “Now he’s back, and for at least one start looking like his old self, and the Rangers are on a little roll as they enter another trying stretch of their season.”
Rangers Can Still Hope For Return On Jacob deGrom Investment
The Rangers acquired deGrom in the 2022 offseason with a five-year, $185 million free agent contract that sees him earning $40 million this season. The 36-year-old has led MLB in strikeouts twice in his career, but has only pitched six starts for the Rangers since then, missing most of the 2023 season with a torn UCL.
The Rangers might soon see some significant returns on their investment in deGrom, though, as he’s projected to return to the mound in August.
“That went really well,” deGrom said of a 15-pitch bullpen session earlier this month. “So one day at a time. I’ve two more this week, and then just keep moving forward from there.”
With a 2.53 ERA across a 10-year career, deGrom’s credentials speak for themselves. If he can tap into the stuff that saw him pitch for a 2.67 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 30.1 innings before his injury last season, he would offer a major boost to the Rangers.
Tyler Mahle Can Make An Impactful Debut For The Rangers
Earning $5.5 million this season after signing a two-year, $22 million contract with the Rangers in the 2023 offseason, Mahle doesn’t have the same kind of resume as his colleagues on the injured list, but the Rangers could certainly use his healthy return.
In five starts for the Minnesota Twins last season, he pitched for a 3.16 ERA and 28 strikeouts before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery. The Rangers signed him amid that injury with the expectation that he’d return in the second half of the season, and he’s been progressing in his rehab.
Though he might not have the upside of Scherzer or deGrom, with a 4.30 ERA in 122 career starts, Mahle is the kind of veteran pitcher who can eat critical innings in a postseason run. Together, this trio of injured pitchers speaks to a slew of injuries throughout the roster that explains the Rangers’ fall from its World Series heights just eight months ago. But the prospect of their returns means there’s still time for a return to form.