Mets, Max Scherzer hoping latest IL stint gets the ace ready for October

By Deesha Thosar
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Max Scherzer and the Mets are playing it safe because, for now, that’s really all they can do.

Scherzer was placed on the injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Sept. 4, with what the Mets have termed “left-side irritation.” Scherzer, seeking his 200th career win Saturday, instead pulled himself from his start against the Nationals after just five innings and 67 pitches.

He felt “left-side fatigue” that emerged during that outing and continues to persist four days later. Scherzer said he underwent an MRI on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, which revealed inflammation on his left side.

The immediate plan is for Scherzer to stop throwing for “a few days,” the pitcher said. The team expects him to miss two starts while on the IL and rejoin the rotation when he is eligible, which places his return near Sept. 19 for the start of the Mets’ six-game trip to Milwaukee and Oakland.

“This is days, not weeks,” Scherzer told reporters Wednesday in Pittsburgh. “This is not a significant injury.”

This is Scherzer’s second trip to the IL this season and his third different injury of the year. He missed roughly seven weeks through the end of May and all of June due to a left oblique strain. Back in April, his season debut was slightly delayed as he worked to get over a hamstring issue.

Scherzer was steadfast in dismissing that his ongoing left-side irritation is anything more serious than that. Multiple times Wednesday, he said his discomfort would be cleared up in a matter of days. The right-hander even cited the Mets’ medical staff and relayed, “Everybody in there believes that this is going to resolve itself really quickly.” 

It’s a positive outlook, but questions remain regarding Scherzer’s health for the rest of the season and, potentially, through a deep playoff run.

While he is expected to return to the rotation after the minimum 15 days on the IL, it’s anyone’s guess whether his left-side issues will resurface his next time on the mound. Scherzer said his irritation “is not a long-term injury,” but how can he be sure when discomfort popped up on that same left side for the second time in just over three months?

Scherzer and the Mets are downplaying the malady that has caused his second stint on the IL this season in the hope that these next couple of weeks will be enough time to stabilize the ace. Really, they have no choice but to go with that plan, given where they are in the baseball calendar.

If the 38-year-old rejoins the rotation following the expected minimum stay on the IL, Scherzer will have enough time to record two starts — both of which would likely come with pitches and innings limits — before the Mets play a critical series beginning Sept. 30 at Atlanta. New York will want its 1-2 punch ready and rested for that final regular-season matchup with the Braves, which might just decide the NL East. The Mets and Braves entered Wednesday tied for first place in the tug-of-war division. 

“Just my left side feels achy,” Scherzer said. “It’s not a strain. I don’t have one specific spot that you can point to where that hurts. It’s just general fatigue on the whole left side. First time I did this, I had one specific spot. That’s not what this is. That’s the good in this.”

Left-hander David Peterson (7-3, 3.32 ERA) is the obvious candidate to cover Scherzer’s pair of missed starts. The team will need Peterson to pitch this weekend in Miami and again next week, likely against the Pirates at Citi Field, before checking whether Scherzer is feeling better enough to come off the IL. Fortunately for the Mets, while Scherzer is out, they’ll play three teams (the Pirates, Marlins and Cubs) that have a .401 winning percentage combined. New York is in a solid position to overcome its latest bout of adversity thanks to schedule alone.

But big-picture, the Mets’ goal of ending their 36-year championship drought relies on Scherzer being in good health. New York must hope that his latest stint on the IL is sufficient time for him to heal, no matter how major or minor the ailment. The Mets are in the midst of a pennant race, and they can point to Scherzer’s 2.26 ERA across 20 starts as one of the biggest reasons they’ve held on to first place as long as they have. They can also point to Scherzer and co-ace Jacob deGrom as keys to reaching that promised land.

Take away the outstanding performances from Scherzer and deGrom (4-1, 1.98 ERA) this season, and starters Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco and others have combined to record a 4.32 ERA. That would rank 21st in MLB among starters, a far cry from the Mets’ actual rotation ERA of 3.52, which is good for fifth in baseball and second in the National League.

The Mets need Scherzer ready to go, full bore, for the postseason. That is when they will need his uber-competitive attitude and maddening dominance the most. For now, all they can do is hope that these next couple of weeks are the last time he’s sidelined before the calendar flips to October.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.