Max Scherzer has decided to take the suspension for his use of an illegal foreign substance during Wednesday's start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The New York Mets ace will serve a 10-day suspension starting Thursday after he ultimately decided not to appeal his suspension in part because it would not be presided over by a neutral arbiter and will instead be heard by an MLB official.
“I thought I was going get in front of a neutral arbitrator, but I wasn't. It was going to be through MLB. Given that process, I wasn't going to come out on top,” Scherzer said (h/t SNY).
Max Scherzer's suspension is a big blow to the pitching rotation of the Mets, which is already dealing with the absences of Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana due to injuries. Moreover, the Mets are not allowed to replace Max Scherzer on the active roster, so they will just have to survive with 25 players in the fold until the end of April.
The future Hall of Famer was ejected from his start in the Dodgers game in the fourth inning but not before a heated argument on the mound with home-plate umpire Dan Bellino and crew chief Phil Cuzzi, who both thought that the substance they found on Max Scherzer was stickier than what they believed is normal. Scherzer tried to make his case that it was just rosin, but he was still ultimately thrown out. Max Scherzer will not be permitted to return to action until May 1.
Before he left the game, Scherzer had zero runs allowed on just a hit with three strikeouts and two issued free passes in three innings of work.
So far in the 2023 MLB regular season, the 38-year-old Scherzer has a 2-1 record and a 3.72 ERA.