ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Jacob deGrom's return to the big league mound is closer than ever. The Rangers' ace had reconstructive surgery on his right UCL in June 2023 and has been working his way back ever since.

On Sunday, deGrom made his third rehab start, returning to Triple-A Round Rock for the series finale against Oklahoma City. It was a rather uneventful outing for the right-hander, who tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, but striking out five. The plan was for him to throw about 45 pitches or three innings. He ultimately threw 43 in 2 2/3 innings.

"I¡¯ve felt really good,¡± deGrom said on Monday at Globe Life Field.

deGrom threw 18 fastballs and 18 sliders, while mixing in a few changeups to round out his day. His fastball velocity was down just a tick, but it averaged 97.8 mph and peaked at 99.7 mph.

"I¡¯ve seen glimpses [of my old self],¡± deGrom said. "I¡¯ve gone so long without pitching competitively. I think sometimes with the slider, I try to do too much with it and yank it. Yesterday, I was trying to make adjustments in the game. I ended up throwing five in a row at one point because I was like, ¡®I'm gonna keep doing this until I throw it how I want it.¡¯"

deGrom made his first rehab start on Aug. 22 with Double-A Frisco, giving up a run on two hits in two innings. He threw 29 pitches (21 strikes) and struck out three. In his second start -- this one at Round Rock -- he tossed two perfect innings against Oklahoma City on Aug. 27.

As of now, the plan is for deGrom to pitch at Double-A Frisco on Saturday. deGrom told the media that the Rangers staff was discussing him starting with the big league club this coming weekend, as opposed to making a final rehab start with the RoughRiders, but manager Bruce Bochy didn¡¯t sound fully on board with the idea when asked.

"That's always an option, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do,¡± Bochy said. ¡°If something happened, and we were in a position where we thought we needed to do it and it was fine with Jacob, yeah, we would do it. But for now the plan is still for him to start down there [in Frisco]."

If deGrom does indeed start for the RoughRiders on Saturday, he is likely to rejoin the big league club during the West Coast road trip between Arizona and Seattle from Sept. 10-15.

¡°We¡¯re going to weigh all these options,¡± deGrom said. ¡°I¡¯ve been fortunate enough to feel good throughout this whole process, so I think at this point now, it's just to make sure we don't do anything not smart. Just like what is the best path, or smartest path forward.¡±