Veteran right hander Max Scherzer appears to be nearing a return to Major League action as Texas has announced that he will begin a rehab assignment this week.
While the Rangers haven’t disclosed which of their minor league affiliate teams Scherzer will join, all signs point towards the 39 year old rejoining the MLB ranks sometime in May. Scherzer underwent offseason back surgery to address a nagging issue which plagued him down the stretch last year.
The two-time World Series champion joined Texas at the trade deadline in 2023 from the New York Mets where he recorded a 3.20 ERA and a 4-2 record across 8 starts. Unfortunately a strained muscle in his right shoulder caused him to miss the final two weeks of the regular season and first two rounds of the MLB playoffs.
The 8x All-Star has gone through a live batting practice session and 2 inning simulated game in recent days. The current plan seems to be to have him throw one more bullpen session before beginning his rehab assignment, with a possible appearance on Wednesday in the cards.
“To have back surgery, I’ve been through that, and I’ve known guys that have been through it,” manager Bruce Bochy said this month. “Let’s be honest. He’s not a spring chicken. For him to bounce back like this and be doing so well, yeah, I am amazed.”
Texas’ Double-A team in Frisco and Triple-A team in Round Rock are both home this week, making either a viable option for the 3x Cy Young Award winner to join to get in some reps.
Texas currently sits atop the AL West, but haven’t exactly begun to run away with the division, posting an 11-11 record to date. With fellow starter Jacob deGrom also on the IL as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, the Rangers have struggled to get impactful innings out of their starters thus far.
The Rangers currently sit 20th in the Major Leagues with a 4.24 team ERA, and will certainly welcome back a veteran innings eater such as Scherzer. For his part, Scherzer has the opportunity to further cement his legacy as he currently sits 4 strikeouts shy of Greg Maddux’s 3,371 career punch outs mark. Maddux, who required almost 2,200 more innings than Scherzer to reach that mark, currently sits 10th all-time on the MLB strikeout list.
Texas is next in action Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves in a 7:10pm ET showdown.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.