Rangers new ace deGrom finally throws 1st bullpen of spring Twins finalize 1-year deal with vet infielder Donovan Solano

SURPRISE, Arizona – Jacob de Grom walked out of his first spring training bullpen session for the Texas Rangers on Thursday feeling good after not dropping the mound for the first eight days of camp with his new team.

“It was a small step, but a step in the right direction,” deGrom said.

Two-time National League winner Cy Young missed the Rangers’ first official practice on Feb. 15 with a strain in his left side. Four days after that, he threw flat ground and spent about six sessions in the bullpen before reaching Arizona.

The right-hander threw 22 passes, all of them light fastballs, during Thursday’s session. Roughly half of the pitches were from a half-height mound, and then he finished on a standard mound.

“They just said it nice and easy,” deGrom said of what the coaches told him to do. “Today’s goal was just to get through my labor and stay nice and smooth. … Don’t try to do too much, let things take their course, and let my birth be beautiful and clean.”

DeGrom said the plan for moving forward was to keep progressing, build up innings, and participate in some games. His first bullpen session came the day before the Rangers’ scheduled spring opener in the Cactus League and exactly five weeks before the regular season opener at home on March 30 against National League champion Philadelphia.

“I felt very good,” he said. “The last few days I felt really good, I felt normal.”

In December, Texas signed deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract. DeGrom, 34, spent the first nine years of his major league career with the Mets, but injuries have kept him in 156 1/3 innings in 26 games over the past two seasons.

After missing the final three months of the 2021 season with a stiff right forearm and a sprained elbow, deGrom was pulled out late in spring training last year due to a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade. He didn’t play in the big leagues last season until August, when he became a free agent for the first time.

After arriving in Arizona, he felt what he called a slight stiffness in his left side and told team officials about it. His right hand felt good all the time.

“The last thing you want to do is come in and say, ‘The left side hurts a little.’ But, you know, we were careful about that,” deGrom said. “Looking at it now, I think it was the right move. You still have time to pack up and get ready.”

New Rangers coach Bruce Bochi, who spoke to reporters before practice Thursday, said the day before there was no concern about deGrom’s delay on the mound.

“Well, you look at the shots he made before, we decided to back off a bit,” Boci said. “This is not a concern from our side, especially when we train here in the spring. … He feels great.”

FORT MYERS, FL – Infielder Donovan Solano The Minnesota Twins signed a one-year, $2 million contract on Thursday, adding another productive and versatile player to an already deep bench.

The deal was agreed on Tuesday and completed after the completion of the physical review. He can earn an additional $250,000 in plate appearance bonuses: $25,000 each for 325 and 375, $50,000 each for 425, and $75,000 each for 475 and 502.

Last season, Solano hit .284, hitting 16 doubles and hitting four home runs in 80 games for Cincinnati, playing mostly at first base. Prior to that, he spent three years in San Francisco, winning the National League Silver Slugger second baseman award in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season when he batted .326 with a career-best .828 OPS in 54 games.

The 35-year-old Colombian native made his major league debut for Miami in 2012. He is hitting .278 with 27 home runs in 686 games.

Solano was primarily a second baseman and also had third base experience and a shortstop. Together with another former Reds player, he will give the Twins some extra depth. Kyle Farmerwho will also be deployed as an alternate corner outfielder. Nick Gordonwho is Minnesota’s most versatile player, is also firmly in that reserve.

Solano, nicknamed “Donnie Barrels” for his consistent ability to send line drives to all parts of the field, will look to him to provide another productive right slugger for a roster that could use them more than the stars. Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa And Joseph Miranda.

“It’s fair to say we’ll take literally as many good players as we can,” manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters Wednesday at spring training in Fort Myers, Florida.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins brought in a right-handed pitcher. Chris Paddack on the 60-day casualty list. Paddack will miss most of the season while Tommy John recovers from right elbow surgery. An ulnar lateral ligament injury limited Padduck to five starts on his Twins debut last year.