Last season, pretty much the only one of the Texas Rangers' core players who didn’t need an IL stint was none other than Jacob deGrom.

An interesting note given deGrom’s injury history, and that he had just come off his second Tommy John surgery.

In fact, in January 2025 at Rangers Fan Fest, deGrom told reporters that his goal was to make thirty starts in 2025.

That notion was one that even his own manager, the legendary Bruce Bochy, wasn’t even quite sure if he believed.

However, despite that, deGrom knew that he could do it and that proved to be all that mattered as he totaled exactly 30 starts.

Not only did he make the 30 starts, but he in fact made them quite well, posting a 2.97 ERA with a 12-8 record in 172.2 innings.

So, deGrom was the Rangers' lone All-Star for the 2025 game in Atlanta, making it back to the midsummer classic for the first time since 2021.

Just about the only thing the Rangers would have liked to have gone differently with deGrom’s 2025 season would have been him pitching in meaningful games down the stretch.

However, in 2026, Texas feels like that wish will become a reality with the team they have built this offseason.

deGrom will once again join Nathan Eovaldi at the top of the Rangers' rotation, only this time they will have fellow all-star MacKenzie Gore behind them.

Once again, the Rangers’ rotation figures to be amongst the best in all of baseball after last year finishing as the league’s top unit.

As for deGrom, just getting him through last season healthy alone was a win, but getting the quality the Rangers did was certainly a welcome sign.

In 2026, the Rangers know that if he can stay healthy, they will once again have an ace on their hands.

Perhaps more importantly, deGrom will be entering Spring Training with no restrictions and, for the first time in a long time, has had a normal offseason to ramp up for the season.

Once things do get underway in 2026, that should lead to deGrom being able to go deeper into games compared to last season, as far as limits go.

Managing deGrom is one of the many tasks that first-year manager Skip Schumaker has in front of him.

deGrom and his fellow pitchers will report to Spring Training exactly one week from today.

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