New Texas Rangers infielder Corey Seager speaks at a press conference at Globe Life Field Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. The Texas Rangers have finalized the contracts for their new half-billion dollar middle infield, wrapping up their deals Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 with two-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager and Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien.(AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Max Scherzer is finally back on the mound for the Texas Rangers. The future Hall of Famer made it back from a long rehab from various issues to pitch five scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. But he’s not entirely out of the woods yet.
Scherzer underwent back surgery in the offseason and then dealt with a nerve issue in his arm during his rehab starts in the minor leagues. He was one of several Rangers pitchers to deal with injuries this season along with Jacob deGrom and Josh Sborz. Although he’s back in action, the result of his long rehab means that he’ll have to be careful going forward.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy explained that Scherzer was dealing with soreness that will have to be monitored.
“We’ll see how he’s doing,” Bochy said, via MLB.com. “I’m not surprised he’s a little sore. I talked about this earlier, but you do your rehab and all that, but there’s something about when you get to a Major League stadium and you get the juices going and adrenaline going. He’s going to turn it up a notch, which he did.”
The MLB.com injury page says that Scherzer is dealing with a thumb issue that makes it harder to grip the ball. He will go through a light bullpen session on Tuesday before his next probable start on Friday against the mighty Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards.
Max Scherzer experiences soreness after 2024 season debut
Scherzer is pitching at an age that very few players make it to. At age 39, he has put a lot of mileage on his body in the pursuit of winning and dominating at the MLB level. Last season after being traded by the New York Mets, Scherzer posted a 3.20 ERA with Texas in the regular season and then, after a rocky few starts in the ALCS, allowed no runs across 3.0 innings in his lone appearance in the 2023 World Series. Even after all the time he has spent in MLB, he’s not looking to call it quits just yet.
