Despite being 40 years old now and racked by injuries, Max Scherzer is still determined to continue pitching.
The Texas Rangers veteran righty Scherzer spoke with reporters on Friday and made a noteworthy statement about his future in light of his various injury woes this year. Scherzer said that he fully intends to pitch in 2025.
“When I’m out there, I’ve been able to compete,” Scherzer said, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “I can still pitch at a high level. I look at things like my slider, which I went into the season wanting to fix, and it’s been really good. I still see myself as able to compete and win.
“Everything feels good,” added Scherzer, who threw a bullpen session on Friday. “I think I’ve just tried to essentially do spring training in-season and that’s something I’ve never done before. This time, I thought I would need about five extra days. I needed about an extra week on top of that.”
The three-time Cy Young winner Scherzer has had his 2024 season almost completely derailed by injuries. An offseason procedure to fix a herniated disc in his back sidelined Scherzer for all of spring training and prevented him from making his season debut until late June. Scherzer then lasted just eight starts and 39.1 total innings pitched before having to return to the IL earlier this month due to a worrisome injury to his throwing shoulder.
Set to be a free agent in the offseason, Scherzer is still working towards pitching again this season and recently got a nerve injection in his shoulder. But it may be too late for the 56-67 Rangers, who are 10 full games back of a playoff spot and will have the option of letting Scherzer walk in the winter.
