Max

Scherzer

Scherzer will turn 41 in July, and while he was limited to just nine starts, the 3.95 ERA he posted in those outings suggests he’s still capable of being effective. Scherzer noted that he’s obviously willing to return to Texas, but if the Rangers don’t show interest, there should be a decent — if more limited than in the past — market for Scherzer on a one-year deal.

Scherzer was supposed to start today, but he was scratched before the game and replaced by Dane Dunning. He ends the year 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in nine starts, which certainly isn’t how he wanted to go back into free agency as a 40-year-old.

No details are available about Scherzer at this time, though it does seem injury-related. If he goes on the injured list, that would end his season. Dane Dunning will start for the Rangers against the Mariners Saturday.

It wasn’t exactly vintage Scherzer, as he struck out only two and gave up a long homer to Julio Rodríguez. Still, his stuff was pretty much the same as it was before he got hurt. He should be worth using in mixed leagues next weekend in a rematch against the Mariners.

Scherzer is back to make a start Saturday against Seattle. The 40-year-old hasn’t gone very deep in his rehab outings, so it’s likely he’ll have a similar workload to Jacob deGrom in this first outing back.

Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are both making rehab starts Saturday, and both are hopefully going to make their way to Texas after. Scherzer is only expected to pitch two innings tonight for Triple-A Round Rock, so it’s likely the 40-year-old will be in maintenance mode even when he does make the return to the bump. That makes him a risky streaming option for the rest of the year.

It’s interesting that Saturday was picked, given that Jacob deGrom is making a rehab start the same day. Unclear is whether Scherzer will be activated after just the one start, but he won’t want to remain in the minors for long.

It’s undoubtedly a positive sign that Scherzer is still throwing after being scratched last week from a scheduled rehab start for Double-A Frisco, but his return timeline remains extremely murky, to say the least. It’s looking highly unlikely that the 40-year-old righty is going to make it back to Texas before the regular season wraps up as he remains in a bit of a holding pattern in his recovery from a shoulder issue that sent him to the injured list back in early August.

The Rangers simply want to give Scherzer a couple extra days as he continues to recover from a shoulder issue that sent him to the injured list back in late July. There should be an update on when he’ll make a minor league rehab start at some point in the coming days.

Jacob deGrom and Scherzer will pitch on back-to-back days for the RoughRiders. Assuming that it goes well, Scherzer will likely make just the one rehab start before being activated.