The New York Mets got some bad news this morning when it was revealed that veteran right-hander Max Scherzer would be headed to the 15-Day Injured List with left side fatigue.
Scherzer strained his left oblique earlier in the season in a start against the St. Louis Cardinals while he was pitching to Albert Pujols.
That took him out for roughly two months.
The move to place Scherzer on the Injured List is retroactive to Sunday.
On Twitter, Mets insider Danny Abriano clarified the projected timeline for Scherzer’s absence.
Mets manager Buck Showalter expects Scherzer to miss at least one start, and potentially two.
Instead of tweeting “Max Scherzer is going to the IL” and leaving it at that, I’ll add some context
Buck Showalter said he expects him to miss one start and maybe two
— Danny Abriano (@DannyAbriano) September 7, 2022
Scherzer Out
The prediction may be that Scherzer will only miss one or two starts, but regardless, this is not good news for the Mets, who are locked in a tight race for the NL East title with the Atlanta Braves, who just pulled into a tie for first last night.
Even with the popular consensus being that Scherzer will only miss a few starts, it’s very possible that this could take him out for the rest of the season.
His oblique strain cost him around two months.
After months without Jacob deGrom, the Mets are now looking at a chunk of time without Scherzer yet again.
Scherzer, who signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets prior to the lockout, has been every bit as good as advertised when healthy, having posted a 9-4 record with a 2.26 ERA.
The Mets now find themselves in a perilous position and with a hole in their rotation, which has been a strength for most of the season.
We’ll see what happens next, but the Mets now find themselves at a disadvantage with their recent slide and the Braves’ recent hot streak.
NEXT: Mets Insider Shares Unfortunate Max Scherzer Injury Update