SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers obviously have a star-studded rotation. Jacob deGrom is arguably the best pitcher of his generation when healthy and Nathan Eovaldi is a World Series hero. Even the depth at the bottom of the rotation includes a pair of superstar rookies in Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.
When it’s laid out like that, it’s easy to see why Tyler Mahle is a bit forgotten, even before taking into account that he’s only pitched 38 1/3 big league innings over the past two seasons.
The Rangers signed Mahle to a two-year, $22 million deal entering 2024 knowing that he would miss most of that first season due to Tommy John rehab. At the time, president of baseball operations Chris Young said he saw the right-hander as a valuable piece of the Rangers' plans, both in 2024 and ‘25.
Mahle returned to the mound on Aug. 6, but ultimately he only made three starts, allowing seven runs in 12 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking four. His velocity was slightly down in his final start against the Twins on Aug. 18, and he landed on the injured list with right shoulder stiffness two days later.
Mahle was shut down on Sept. 3 due to a stress reaction in his shoulder and returned home to California for the remainder of the season. All that was needed to treat his shoulder injury was rest, thankfully.
Mahle wasn’t frustrated with the shutdown, per se, but he was motivated to figure out what was wrong with his shoulder and fix it as quickly as possible. He made some mechanical adjustments during the offseason, and hopes those will ensure problems won’t arise again.
“I don't know, it was probably good that [the shutdown] happened, because we figured out what was wrong with my shoulder,” Mahle explained. “I never had a hiccup with the elbow, so we know that's strong, and we found out what was wrong with my shoulder and took the steps that we took to make it right. Now we're here, I threw enough innings to where it's not going to hold me back this year. We're in a great spot.”
Now, Mahle is fully available for the Rangers’ plans this season -- right smack in the middle of a rotation full of stars.
“Tyler's got a clean bill of health, no restrictions or limitations coming into camp,” Young said. “Obviously, we saw a little bit of him last year, and he looked very good, and then we shut him down with shoulder soreness. We're excited. We're counting on Tyler. We need him. A healthy Tyler Mahle is a really good Major League player, so we need him. We're banking on him, and we're hopeful that we're going to see the good version of him.”
Mahle is an intriguing piece of the Rangers’ rotation puzzle in 2025, which is promising when all are healthy. But every member of the rotation has spent time on the injured list at some point in 2024, including ace Jacob deGrom -- who was recovering from his own Tommy John surgery -- as well as Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Cody Bradford.
“It’s a great group,” Mahle said. “If we, like I said, are all able to stay healthy, it’s a phenomenal starting five. I think we're all excited.”
Mahle has struggled with injuries throughout his big league career. His 180 innings in 2021 is the only time he has thrown more than 130 innings in a Major League season. But when healthy, especially over the last few seasons, he’s looked like a guy with All-Star potential.
As recently as 2023, Tommy John surgery cut short Mahle's promising campaign with the Twins. Over his first five starts that season, he posted a 3.16 ERA with 28 strikeouts to just five walks. Between 2021-22 with Cincinnati and Minnesota, Mahle posted a 3.72 ERA (127 ERA+) across 43 games (42 starts). His 210 strikeouts in '21 ranked ninth in the NL over that time.
Now, he’s ready for a healthy spring and healthy season to help the team win.
“When you sit and watch as many games as he has, you want to get back on the mound,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “When you watch those games every day, you miss it. It's what you love to do. So this is a big year for him, I think that's fair to say. He wants to keep pitching. He's got, I think, a lot of baseball left to help the ballclub. That's the guy. That's who he is.”