Texas Rangers ace Jacob DeGrom’s renaissance season in 2025 continues apace, and his latest effort puts him in singular historical company.
On Friday, one day after he turned 37, deGrom pitched six innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out seven against only one walk in Texas’ eventual 7-2 win. It wasn’t vintage deGrom dominance, but it did exemplify the yeomanlike quality that has thus far defined his 2025 campaign.
Speaking of which, deGrom has now ripped off 12 straight starts in which he’s lasted at least five innings and also allowed two or fewer runs. As Kennedi Landry notes, that’s a franchise record, and it also makes deGrom the first pitcher aged 35 or older to achieve that feat since 1900. That’s a special achievement for any pitcher, but it’s especially for deGrom, who has been waylaid by injuries for so much of his career.
Jacob deGrom experiences a first in his lengthy career as Rangers starter continues standout season
R.J. Anderson
The current season marks his full comeback from June 2023 Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career. Since signing a $185 million free-agent contract with Texas prior to the 2023 season, deGrom had been limited to just starts coming into this season. Not since 2019, when he won the second of his two Cy Young awards, has deGrom managed to log a qualifying number of innings in a season. The current season, however, has him on pace for 188 innings.
Speaking of current paces, after Friday’s start, deGrom now boasts the following numbers for 2025:
That adds up to a WAR of 2.5 according to Baseball-Reference calculations. That’s good for ninth place among American League pitchers. As well, that puts deGrom on target for a WAR of 5.3. That would be deGrom’s first five-win season — we’re talking about wins denominated in WAR, not traditional pitcher wins — since that aforementioned Cy Young season of 2019.
As well, that would make him just the 22nd pitcher in the Integrated Era (since 1947) to register a season WAR of 5.3 or higher in his age-37 season or older. Yes, those are convenient endpoints for deGrom, but they still put him in the elite company. Survey his list of potential fellow travelers, and you’ll find current and future Hall of Famers like Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Warren Spahn, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, and Justin Verlander (and that’s to say nothing of Roger Clemens).
Will deGrom keep it up? Even at such an advanced baseball age, his fastball still averages 97.1 mph, which puts him in the 90th percentile among MLB hurlers. As well, DeGrom’s actual ERA of 2.24 isn’t far off from his expected ERA of 2.94.
No, the Rangers’ season isn’t going as hoped — Friday’s win nudged them up to 37-39 for the year — but deGrom is more than doing his part. The injury risk and history will always be part of his story, but at this juncture, he’s on his way to a sparkling comeback season. It’s one that, if paces hold, may cause us to rethink how we project the rest of deGrom’s career.
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