It was exactly a month ago Friday that Max Scherzer’s season seemed to be over, when Rangers GM Chris Young told reporters that Scherzer was “unlikely” to be part of any postseason play due to a teres major strain. However, Scherzer almost immediately started some level of light baseball activity, and has steadily ramped up his work to the point that he now looks to be on the verge of joining the Rangers for the start of the AL Championship Series.
Scherzer threw a 68-pitch simulated game on Wednesday and told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) Friday that he threw another bullpen session and participated in fielding drills. With all of this regular workload complete, Scherzer feels, “I’ve pressed all the buttons I can. I’m ready to go….I feel normal. That’s all I can say. All I can do is describe what I feel like and if I have an issue, I have to let them know. But my arm feels fresher.”
The final verdict won’t come until Sunday when the Rangers officially submit their ALCS roster in advance of Game 1 against the Astros. But, all signs point to Scherzer being in the mix, making for quite a boost for the Rangers in getting a future Hall of Famer added to the pitching staff. Jordan Montgomery is the announced Game 1 starter, Nathan Eovaldi will very likely start Game 2, and Grant figures any of Scherzer, Andrew Heaney or Dane Dunning could start Game 3.
It stands to reason that Scherzer might be face a relatively quick hook if he does start, to keep him from overtaxing his arm. In that scenario, Scherzer could be part of a piggyback situation with Heaney, Dunning, or possibly Martin Perez. Jon Gray is another possible X-factor for the series, as the righty has been working his way back from forearm tightness and could also be included on the ALCS roster. The pitching plans will likely also hinge on how things play out for Texas in the first two games of the series, so the official Game 3 starter might not be known until after Game 2 is over on Monday.
Scherzer posted a 3.77 ERA over 152 2/3 innings with the Mets and Rangers during the regular season, which stands as one of the more unusual seasons of the ace’s 16-year MLB career. A midseason trade surely didn’t seem on the radar for Scherzer on a Mets team that won 101 games last year, but after New York stumbled during the first half, the Mets opted to move multiple veterans at the trade deadline, including Scherzer to Texas in a blockbuster deal.
More must-reads: