Future Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer made his first professional start since April on Sunday, tossing four scoreless innings for the Texas Rangers Triple-A team. It was his second start since his surgery in December.
Scherzer struck out five batters and surrendered only two base runners. He was pulled after walking the leadoff batter in the fifth inning. He threw 53 pitches, 37 of them for strikes.
Scherzer turns 40 three days before the July 30 trade deadline and will be a free agent after the season. These next five months could be the last ones of Scherzer's career, although he has not hinted at his retirement.
Some pitchers have proven able to pitch into their 40s. Scherzer's former teammate Justin Verlander is currently displaying that with the Houston Astros at 41 years old. Scherzer is certainly a player who has the competitive edge to keep playing as he gets older, but his body might not allow him to do so.
What happens from now through October will be telling as to whether Scherzer will hang things up. The Rangers could use a vintage Scherzer to help them climb back into playoff contention. If the three-time Cy Young Award winner still pitches like an ace, the Rangers or another franchise could be inclined to offer him a hefty contract to pitch in his 17th MLB season in 2025.
The Rangers acquired Scherzer via trade last July. He won half of his eight starts and posted a 3.20 ERA with 53 strikeouts. He missed a month toward the end of the season and returned to toss 9.2 innings in three starts in the postseason, recording a 6.52 ERA. His last outing came in Game 3 of the World Series where he threw three scoreless innings before leaving with a back injury.
Rangers staying afloat amid slew of injuries
The Rangers are 31-34 on June 10, five games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West standings and three games out of a wild card spot. It is somewhat of a shock to see the Rangers do that well considering the injury luck they've been handed this season.
Texas currently has 11 players on its 40-man roster on the injured list. Wyatt Langford, Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray returned from injury within the last two weeks.
The Rangers have used 23 pitchers and 43 players total through 64 games. They used 48 players last season.
Despite the multitude of pitching injuries to members of the Rangers, Texas' rotation has been respectable and kept the Rangers in games this year. They've delivered 25 quality starts, while the trio of Eovaldi, Gray and Michael Lorenzen have a combined 2.62 ERA in 32 appearances and 30 starts.
Adding a healthy and motivated Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom to that mix would give the Rangers a dangerous rotation for the second half of the season. No one wants to see a defending World Series champion with a chip on its shoulder.
The Rangers have shown what they can be when they're fully healthy. They won a World Series last year without deGrom and have as much talent as any team in the MLB. Don’t expect Texas to lay down this season.
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