The Texas Rangers have generally gotten good production from their pitching staff through the early weeks of the season. Further help may be coming in the form of a three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Max Scherzer, who is recovering from offseason back surgery and had originally been expected to come back in the later part of June, might actually be back in early May.
In a conversation with Kevin Burkhardt, Ken Rosenthal detailed that Scherzer may be returning in a matter of weeks — though there are still some hurdles to be cleared.
“They’re hoping for early May,” Rosenthal said. “Now, as you mentioned, 25 pitches of live batting practice Monday. Expected to throw 40 pitches in live batting practice tomorrow. And then maybe he goes out on a Minor League rehab assignment…The original plan was late June. Then it got shifted to early June, then late May and now early May.
“Scherzer told me last week that he is still a little bit cautious about this whole thing only because he has to pass each step with everything checked off. But so far, so good. He has checked every box. And they’re looking forward to him returning much sooner than expected.”
The Rangers are hopeful that Max Scherzer can return from injury in early May.@Ken_Rosenthal has more on this ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YYb2cYsHir
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 19, 2024
Between the Rangers and New York Mets, Scherzer posted a 3.77 ERA with a 1.120 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 152.2 innings. He was more effective after getting traded to Texas, putting up a 3.20 ERA, 0.956 WHIP and 53 strikeouts and 45 innings.
Scherzer is 39 so it makes sense that he and the Rangers would both want to avoid rushing things. But if there are no obstacles, the future Hall of Famer could be back on the mound sooner rather than later.
[MLB on Fox on Twitter/X]
