Rangers' deGrom left start vs. Yankees due to forearm tightness

The Texas Rangers removed ace Jacob deGrom from his start against the New York Yankees due to right forearm tightness, manager Bruce Bochy said postgame, according to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News.

Bochy said the decision to remove him was "precautionary," according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

"We'll evaluate him tomorrow and see how he feels," Bochy added, per McFarland.

DeGrom started his night with 3.1 perfect innings, a run that was interrupted by a walk to Anthony Rizzo. After surrendering his first hit of the game two batters later, he was visited by Rangers trainers and removed following a lengthy discussion on the mound.

DeGrom previously dealt with right forearm tightness in 2021 while pitching for the New York Mets. The issue cut his potentially historic season short after just 15 starts.

While deGrom remains arguably the best starter in baseball when healthy, injuries are a persistent problem for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Since his most recent Cy Young-winning season in 2019, deGrom owns a sparkling 2.15 ERA, 1.77 FIP, and 0.74 WHIP, but he's made just 43 starts over that span.

The 34-year-old owns a 2.67 ERA and 0.76 WHIP with 45 strikeouts and four walks across six starts for the Rangers this season. He's in the first season of a five-year, $185-million contract with Texas.