Former Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland weighed in on the future of current Rangers starter Jacob deGrom during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan recently.
Holland believes there is a pitcher that deGrom can emulate, one that had Tommy John surgery late in his career and returned at age 39 to win a Cy Young award and a World Series ring.
“Going forward though after having two Tommy Johns, it is going to be very tough to be that guy again,” Holland said. “That’s the big thing for him, just trying to be that that guy, but also are you still going to have that same (pitching) philosophy?
“And if you do, I’m wondering if … you do what (Justin) Verlander does? Verlander comes into a game and he’ll be throwing 90 to 93 and then hey, alright, we got bases loaded, it’s go time and doesn’t throw a pitch under 97.
“I get it, people are gonna be like, ‘Well, you’re still putting a lot of stress on that by doing it.’ Well. It’s more controlled because he’s not throwing that hard earlier in the game, saving the bullets and saving maybe that ligament.”
Holland recently learned he would have Tommy John surgery, which curtailed a comeback attempt with an independent team.
deGrom surgery on Monday for a torn UCL in his right elbow. It’s the second time he’s had a Tommy John-type surgery.
This will be Holland’s first time to go under the knife for that type of surgery. deGrom’s first surgery was in 2010 while he was in the New York Mets minor-league system.
There aren’t many pitchers that have had Tommy John surgery twice in their careers and been effective. One that has done it is Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, who had the surgery once in high school and again as a pro.
Combine that with deGrom’s age — he turns 35 on Monday — and you have a recipe for the Rangers not getting as much in return for their five-year, $185 million investment.
Verlander is now with the Mets where he is 2-3 with a 4.85 ERA in seven starts at age 40.
deGrom faces a recovery that could last 12-18 months. Given that it’s his second Tommy John, Holland also said it might be time for deGrom to look at other aspects of his game.
“It also could be something with his mechanics, too, that this is twice now you’ve had Tommy John, we might need to dive into your mechanics a little bit more and see what we’re doing,” Holland said. “That could be causing a lot of stress on that elbow, or the shoulder or wherever else his injuries are.”
Holland said during the appearance that he will have his surgery soon and it will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers team surgeon who did deGrom’s surgery this week.
