Opening Day never gets old for deGrom: 'It's a huge honor'

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Jacob deGrom has made Opening Day starts before -- three times with the Mets, to be exact. But the Rangers’ ace doesn’t deny getting excited for it each and every year he gets the opportunity.

deGrom will make his fourth career Opening Day start on March 30 against the Phillies and his first with the Rangers, manager Bruce Bochy announced on Friday. He will be the club’s 14th different Opening Day starter since 2010. The last Texas pitcher to start consecutive season openers was Kevin Millwood from 2006-09, something the Rangers would like to change with deGrom over the next five years, the length of his contract.

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deGrom will be the first Opening Day starter in Rangers history to take the mound after having won multiple Cy Young Awards, and just the third Texas pitcher to start on Opening Day after having won one at all, joining Fergie Jenkins (National League Cy Young in 1971) and Gaylord Perry (American League Cy Young in ‘72).

“It's a huge honor, and I couldn't be more happy to do it,” deGrom said. “I’m excited. It's getting us kicked off and hopefully puts us in a good spot. That's the goal. You want to set the tone for the season and get things going. It does feel different even though you try not to make it feel different. You want to go out there like I said, set the tone and have success. … I enjoy it.”

In his final tuneup before his Opening Day start, deGrom looked the part. In Texas’ 5-3 loss to the Padres in its Cactus League finale at Surprise Stadium, he tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. deGrom’s fastball consistently sat in the upper 90s, and it touched triple digits multiple times in his outing.

“I felt really good,” deGrom said. “I had a couple walks, I didn't really like that, but other than that, I threw all four pitches and felt like I located them pretty well. There were a couple of pitches close there, but the ball was coming out good. It felt like mechanics were good, and we got up to 50-something pitches, so hopefully that puts me at 70-something for Opening Day.”

Entering his age-35 season, deGrom has not pitched a full Major League season since 2019, but when he has been on the mound, he has been dominant. From ‘18-21, the right-hander posted a 1.94 ERA with an average of 12 strikeouts per nine innings, in what was perhaps the most dominant multiyear performance by any pitcher of this generation. In '22, the season before he entered free agency, deGrom suffered a stress reaction in his right scapula in Spring Training, which sidelined him until early August.

Texas is hoping to get the elite, healthy version of deGrom this season, and for the length of his five-year, $185 million contract.

After entering camp with “left side tightness,” deGrom has made two starts and looked like himself through the final weeks of Spring Training. He is no doubt looking to prove he’s healthy this season and provide the Rangers with their first bona fide ace in a decade.

“I felt like spring went good,” deGrom said. “Obviously I wasn't thrilled, like I said, coming in with left side soreness, tightness, whatever. I’m a little bit behind where I would have liked to be. But, you know, we came up with a plan and that plan went smoothly and we were able to get going.”