Texas Rangers Provide Troubling Injury Update on Ace Pitcher Jacob deGrom

There's two ways to look at this: 

1) It's a procedural move. deGrom wasn't going to be ready before June 28 anyways, so this is just a chance to get Howard on the 40-man roster easily.

2) It's time to worry. 

This could be part of the "more to come" that Grant was referencing:

This is part of deal with deGrom. Rangers knew it coming in, but also knew it would take some time to learn his cues and language and them him. This is not necessarily a physical setback. He will have follow up MRI this week.

deGrom, 34, is one of the best pitchers of his era. He's won the National League Rookie of the Year (2014), has been to the All-Star Game four times (2015, 2018-19, 2021), has won the National League Cy Young twice (2018-19) and finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting a total of six times.

He's 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA this season.

He left the Mets after nine years this offseason, signing a five-year, $185 million contract with Texas. The Rangers have spent a lot of money the last two offseasons in an effort to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They spent on deGrom this offseason as well as starters Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney.

Last year, they spent on starting pitcher Jon Gray and offensive pieces Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Seager just won the American League Player of the Week award.

The Rangers are in first place in the American League West at 38-20.