SURPRISE, Ariz. — It was basically playing catch from a mound. Not much effort at all. Still, it was silky smooth and left the Rangers exhaling.
Jacob deGrom has returned to the mound.
On Thursday morning, eight days after camp started, deGrom threw his first bullpen session of the spring after reporting with some tightness. Throwing to bullpen catcher Patrick Cantwell on a mound at the far corner of the Rangers’ camp — easier to be out from under prying eyes — deGrom threw 22 pitches. He began with 10 off a half-height mound, then stepped on to the regulation mound for 12 more. When he was done, he smiled, shook hands with pitching coach Mike Maddux and Cantwell. And everybody else sighed a breath of relief.
“It was a small step, but a step in the right direction,” deGrom said afterward. “I just plan to keep progressing and building up pitch count and getting in some games.
“The last thing I wanted was to come in and say my left side was a little sore. But we were cautious with it. And looking at it now, I think it was the right step. There is still time to build up and get ready.”
Maddux had said prior to the session that deGrom wouldn’t be throwing at high intensity. DeGrom has a history of coming to camp and firing pitches at close to 100 mph out of the chute but he acknowledged dialing it back some.
“Fifty or sixty percent is fine,” Maddux said. “It’s just about getting on the mound and throwing downhill.”
While he was out, deGrom missed the equivalent of two bullpen sessions and a live batting practice for the other pitchers. Maddux said the missed time should not have an impact on getting ready for the season.
“We’ll be able to catch up, no problem,” Maddux said.
The Rangers will determine the next step for deGrom after he recovers. The other starters have typically taken two days off between their first and second outing. If he adheres to that track, it would put deGrom on schedule to throw again Sunday.
