Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer was placed on the Texas Rangers’ 60-day injured list.
Scherzer seemed like he might be back in the rotation this month when he made his first rehab outing on April 24. However, six days later, he was forced to postpone his next planned rehab start due to right thumb soreness, which team doctors subsequently determined to be a nerve problem that also affected his right triceps.
On May 9, he underwent cortisone and Botox injections to treat pain related to a nerve problem in his neck and shoulder. Scherzer remarked, “We are talking about your nerves, which is aggravating to deal with.” “You have the rest of your life to screw up your arm. We must devise a strategy for handling it.
The Rangers placed Scherzer on the 15-day to 60-day IL on Wednesday in order to create space on their 40-man roster for right-hander Shaun Anderson, who was added to the active roster. Scherzer played catch in the outfield during this transfer.
Bruce Bochy, the manager of the Rangers, stated on Wednesday, “We just backed him off some.” “I’ll just say he feels better.” A day after giving up six runs in 1 2/3 innings in his first home start against Cleveland, Jack Leiter was optioned back to that Triple-A squad, and Anderson was brought up from Round Rock.
Although it’s unknown when Scherzer will be ready to throw this season, the earliest he could be activated currently is May 28. The 39-year-old right-hander reported that he is not experiencing any problems following surgery to fix a bulging disk in his lower back in mid-December.
In the third inning of his first rehab start for Round Rock on April 24, Scherzer threw 52 pitches. After that, he claimed to have been suffering from thumb soreness, just like he had the previous season, which prevented him from playing for the World Series-winning Rangers at the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs.
In July of last year, Scherzer agreed to opt into the $43.3 million final year of his contract with the Mets, which allowed the Rangers to acquire him before the trade deadline. Of that, $30.83 million is being paid by New York to Texas in two-monthly installments.
Following the deal, Scherzer was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for Texas, the last coming on September 12 during the regular season when a shoulder issue kept him out of the game. After making two starts in the American League Championship Series and Game 3 of the World Series, he came back, but his back gave out after three innings.
With 214 victories and 448 games started, he is second among active pitchers with the most strikeouts in his career (3,367).