PHILADELPHIA – The Rangers Era of Good Health lasted exactly one game.
Right-hander Jacob deGrom was scratched from Saturday’s scheduled start at Philadelphia due to what the club termed “neck stiffness.” A club official indicated the Rangers don’t believe the issue to be serious and it is possible he could start later in the road trip.
With game time temperatures expected to be int 40s Saturday and warmer every day afterwards on the road trip, the Rangers chose to act with an abundance of caution to avoid any lingering issues. It’s also possible the Rangers could simply skip deGrom this time through, preserving the order of the rotation. It would put him in line to make his scheduled start against Cincinnati in the home opener April 3.
In his place, Jacob Latz, who had lost the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation to Kumar Rocker, will make the spot start on Saturday. Latz was effective as a spot starter last year, compiling a 2.72 ERA in eight starts. Latz had pitched effectively in spring training, too, but the Rangers were concerned over a sharp drop in his fastball velocity after three innings.
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The Rangers had also listed Kumar Rocker for their start Monday in Baltimore, pushing him into the No. 4 spot, with Jack Leiter sliding to No. 5. If they can hold to the that schedule, it s would create some more advantageous matchups down the road that could eliminate the possibility of Rocker facing Seattle in either of the club’s two April series. Rocker struggles with holding runners and Seattle ranked fourth in the majors last year with 164 steals. A year ago, the Mariners were rather restrained against Rocker, stealing just twice in three appearances. In his brief career, runners are 12 for 12 stealing against him.
The other potential impact of Saturday’s decision is the stress it could put on the bullpen, taking Latz out of the mix for the next four days and leaving the Rangers short-handed. They also don’t have much flexibility to call up a pitcher without somebody going on the IL.
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