New York Mets ace Max Scherzer has been out of action since May 18 with an oblique injury. It was a heavy blow to a rotation that was already down fellow ace Jacob deGrom.
However, Scherzer is set to return very soon. The three-time Cy Young Award winner will start on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds.
Mets skipper Buck Showalter spoke to the media before the team's Friday night matchup against the Texas Rangers, where he provided an update on his ace.
"If you look at the timeframe of this injury throughout a lot of history, you look at other people with this injury and what's the usual timeline, he's met all the criteria," Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters.
Scherzer's return almost entirely coincides with the beginning of deGrom's return. deGrom is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment on Sunday. The hope is to have him back by late July.
It'll also be welcomed news beyond a dream pairing of future Hall of Famers. The Mets announced that Chris Bassitt was headed to the injured list for undisclosed reasons, though Showalter seemed to indicate the right-hander is battling COVID-19.
"It's society in general," Showalter said. "We got people in all walks of life that have to deal with this. So why should we be any different"?
The 37-year-old signed with the Mets on a three-year, $130 million contract in the offseason. He pitched marvelously, going 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 59 strikeouts before going out with the injury.
"It's one of those things that you can't predict," Scherzer said. "Baseball, you can't predict how you're going to feel with everything. You've just got to stay in the moment."
His rehab has gone well, according to the source himself. It was a new ailment for the Mets ace, but by and large, he has progressed well.
"This is the first time I've ever had an oblique injury," Scherzer said via MLB.com. "Throughout that whole process of learning what I can and cannot do, I feel like I understand what that is now. I should be in a much better spot as we right now tone down the rehab part of this and focus more on just the pitching part. Now, it's just more of a maintenance thing of what I need to do on my other four days to keep it strong and not let this happen again."
