ARLINGTON -- When Jacob deGrom picks up a rock -- a real one, not a baseball -- he doesn¡¯t have to think about tossing it. Those are the kind of random things you don't think about when recovering from major surgery.

deGrom underwent his second Tommy John surgery in June 2023. He watched from the sidelines as the Rangers won the first World Series in franchise history that season and again as their title defense fell short in '24.

Now healthy, with three September 2024 starts under his belt, deGrom is ready to contribute to the Rangers in '25.

¡°I'm definitely excited,¡± deGrom said at Rangers Fan Fest on Saturday. ¡°So this was the light at the end of the tunnel I was seeing, and last year was moving toward that. This is definitely like Christmas morning. A feeling of like, ¡®Hey, let's go see what we can do.¡¯ I feel really good.¡±

deGrom signed with the Rangers ahead of the 2023 season. Since then, he¡¯s made just nine starts, though he has posted a 2.41 ERA in those 41 innings.

Texas fans haven¡¯t even been exposed to the full scope of what deGrom can do for the ballclub.

¡°One of the things I'm most excited about is a healthy season from Jacob, and for our fans to see what that looks like and how good he is,¡± president of baseball operations Chris Young said. ¡°He¡¯s just electric. Coming to the ballpark every day, knowing that he's pitching, knowing that we've got a great chance to win the game, it's an exciting feeling. And our fans truly haven't experienced that over the course of a season, and we're excited and hopeful that this is the year they get to see that.¡±

After all, when healthy, everybody knows who deGrom is and can be. But while the Rangers¡¯ ace is perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, he¡¯s been hindered by injuries throughout the 2020s.

deGrom hasn¡¯t eclipsed 100 innings since his National League Cy Young Award-winning season with the Mets in 2019. But fresh off of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, deGrom looked like himself in those 10 2/3 September innings in 2024 (1.69 ERA). If he¡¯s anywhere close to the deGrom the baseball world knows, he could very well return to the forefront of the AL Cy Young race.

¡°I mean, come on, we got a taste of it last year,¡± manager Bruce Bochy said. ¡°He¡¯s just an incredible talent. These guys, they only come around so often with the gifts and talents that he has, with that philosophy and that command. That's going to be part of our job, to get him out there and keep him healthy and take care of him.¡±

That¡¯s not to say it¡¯ll definitely be smooth sailing. No matter how generational deGrom is, and how healthy he feels, he¡¯s still a 36-year-old pitcher coming off a major elbow surgery.

Texas wants to do everything possible to keep him healthy and pitching into October.

¡°The goal is to get out there as many times as I can,¡± deGrom said. ¡°I'm sure we'd have to be smart with it. We don't want to jump to 200-and-something innings, but I'd like to be able to go out there and make 30 [starts]. That's the goal. You sign here to pitch. I haven't been able to do that. So the goal is to go out there and make as many starts as I can to help contribute.¡±

deGrom¡¯s teammates are more than ready for his return to the mound.

¡°Getting deGrom for a full year is what everybody wants,¡± infielder Marcus Semien said. ¡°I think that he's a guy who is so good, he doesn't even know how good he is. When he's healthy, he's the best right-handed pitcher, if not the best pitcher in the game.¡±

From a baseball standpoint, the numbers speak for themselves. deGrom's fastball still sits in the upper 90s post-surgery. His slider is electric. He¡¯s got great command and doesn¡¯t walk people. He competes every time he¡¯s on the mound.

He¡¯s elite at almost every aspect of pitching. The Rangers are hoping to see that for a full season in 2025.

¡°Jacob deGrom is a special human being,¡± added left-hander Cody Bradford. ¡°Some people are just born to throw a baseball, and he's definitely one of them. When he's healthy, he's arguably the best pitcher in the history of the sport. Obviously, he brings a lot to the table, and it's going to be really exciting to see what he can do for us in 2025.¡±