Just in case you forgot, the Texas Rangers have the once-undisputed best pitcher in baseball waiting to rejoin their rotation.

After all, it’s been a year and four months since Jacob deGrom has toed a big league mound and even then, he only made six starts as a member of the Rangers in 2023 before going down with what would wind up as his second Tommy John surgery.

Following the completion of his live BP sessions earlier this week, deGrom is set to go out on rehab with AA Frisco this Thursday where he will make his first of four rehab assignments.

“My arm feels great except now it’s just been, what, how many months? Fourteen?” said deGrom. “You’ve got your [teammates] in there. You go face other guys, and I think that’ll help a little bit.”

With all that being said, things aren’t quite how the Rangers pictured they would be with deGrom being set to come back.

In an ideal world, deGrom would be coming back and contributing to a Rangers playoff push…however, this world is not ideal.

Entering play on Tuesday, the Rangers sit 11 games back of first place in the AL West and 12.5 games back of the final wild-card spot. Barring a huge run, any talk of the playoffs is unrealistic for Texas right now.

The current state of the team has left many to wonder if the Rangers should even bring deGrom back this season and make him throw innings that seem as of right now to be non-meaningful.

However, don’t tell Jacob deGrom about that.

“Get out there this year, kind of treat it like a normal offseason, and get ready for next year,” deGrom said when speaking to the media last week about his goals for the remainder of the season.

deGrom’s comments on his return were also echoed by Bruce Bochy who is ready to have his ace back on the mound this season.

“He’s missed a lot of time,” Bochy said. “He’s an athlete. He’s a pitcher. He wants to compete. I think it means a lot to him as he goes into the offseason.”

After signing a a five year $185 million contract with the Rangers prior to the 2023 season, deGrom might be the most key factor as to Texas’ contention in the years to come.

That is why, letting him get a few starts under his belt to get some momentum for 2025, is such an important thing for the Rangers to accomplish in a season which is slipping away by the day.