Max Scherzer continues to deal with injury woes to start off his Toronto Blue Jays career.
Scherzer got the start for the Blue Jays during Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. The three-time Cy Young winner was only able to go for three innings before being taken off the mound due to what the Blue Jays called right lat soreness. But Scherzer was adamant after the game that the lat soreness, and most of his other physical issues, are due to his lingering thumb injury.
Scherzer confirmed that on Tuesday as he spoke to reporters before the Blue Jays’ interleague game against the Washington Nationals. The 40-year-old revealed that he had visited a hand specialist on Monday, Scherzer was given a cortisone shot to reduce the pain in the affected area.
“It’s an injury I just can’t pitch through,” Scherzer told reporters, via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. “That (thumb) joint, the ligament, everything around there is critical. The rest of the body is completely dependent on the health of that (area). You can’t just override and pitch through that pain because once that’s compromised, it compromises the rest of your arm. That’s why I had different ailments with my shoulder and back. It’s all related to the thumb.”
The silver lining for Blue Jays fans is that Scherzer thinks there is “no need” to consider surgery just yet. Max also added that his body has responded well to cortisone shots in years past.
Blue Jays GM John Schneider would not commit to a return date for Scherzer. Schneider indicated that the next few days could determine how long Mad Mad will remain on the shelf.
