The New York Mets built an impressive starting rotation for the 2022 season by bringing in Max Scherzer and trading for Chris Bassitt.
Those two would complement a strong group formed by Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, David Peterson, and Trevor Megill, among others.
However, deGrom went down with a shoulder injury and will be out of action for a couple of months; and Walker said Tuesday that his surgically-repaired right knee was bothering him during his awful spring start this week.
That’s why Scherzer’s health is extremely important for the Mets, as he has some injury issues himself.
He is battling a balky hamstring, but the last couple of days have been extremely encouraging thinking about a Friday start against his former team, the Washington Nationals.
Scherzer Seems Set To Take The Ball On Friday Against His Former Team
Scherzer, at this point, is likely to start Friday in the Mets’ second regular season game after throwing a successful bullpen session Tuesday morning.
Keeping up with his normal throwing progression and tune-up process, he also threw on Wednesday.
Max Scherzer is throwing today in DC: pic.twitter.com/qSgwrYc9JB
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 6, 2022
If Scherzer’s hamstring responds well to Wednesday’s throwing session, he should be able to bring some much-needed stability to the unit.
He is already 37 years old, but remains a top starter in baseball after posting a solid 2.46 ERA in 179.1 innings between the Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He may require a few extra days of rest and perhaps some skipped starts with minor injuries, but the Mets’ primary goal is to keep him healthy come playoff time.
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