The Texas Rangers acquired Max Scherzer back in August with the intention of bolstering the starting rotation in the postseason, should they get there. However, Scherzer's arrival in Texas didn't exactly go according to plan. After making just his eighth start with the Rangers, Scherzer proceeded to strain his teres major muscle, knocking him out for what many believed to be a season-ending injury. But in the aftermath of the their 3-0 demolition job of the 101-win Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS, it's all looking up for the Rangers.

In addition to throwing a live batting practice session on Friday before the start of the ALDS, Scherzer “plans to throw a simulated game” to try and get the Rangers' approval for activation ahead of an ALCS matchup against either the Houston Astros or Minnesota Twins, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.

“Everything felt ‘normal’ normal today. This was best-case scenario. I can come out here [Wednesday], throw a simulated game in a controlled environment and build up more arm strength,” Scherzer said following the Rangers' 7-1 win over the Orioles in Game 3.

This is certainly good news for a Rangers team that will definitely be in need of pitching reinforcements. Max Scherzer, unlike the other pitchers they've used to start ballgames thus far in the postseason, has an elite postseason pedigree, having won the World Series back in 2019 with the Washington Nationals.

For his career, Scherzer has tallied a 3.58 ERA in 133.1 postseason innings; he showed back in 2019 and 2021 that he could be such a workhorse for the team in the postseason, even appearing from the bullpen just to reinforce his team's chances of winning the World Series even further.

Of course, Max Scherzer's performance will be a question mark given his month-long hiatus from live action. But the Rangers traded for the 39-year old veteran starter for this particular reason, so if he shows in his simulated game that he's more than capable of shouldering some innings for the team in the ALCS, there's no reason why the Rangers must hesitate to enlist his services given how close they are to winning an elusive World Series title.