Now nearing retirement, the 39-year-old right-handed pitcher is starting for the Rangers for the first time since October 30 last year. Over the offseason, he underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and had to deal with thumb soreness and nerve inflammation. Scherzer only had two rehab starts, during which he recorded 12 strikeouts, 2 walks, 9 hits given up, and 6 runs given up. These stats seem to be proof to the Rangers that Max Scherzer is capable of pitching for the first time in 2024. The former three-time Cy Young Award winner has not been in Cy Young talks since 2021 and doesn’t seem like his past self from 2013-2019. Obviously, every player’s career evolves throughout the years, and Scherzer is getting older, but is it possible for Scherzer to bring back a remnant of his former self?
The answer to this question is both yes and no and here are some reasons where he may adjust and become like his old self and some reasons that he may not:
Yes, he can pitch like his past self:
Max Scherzer is a veteran pitcher who pitched a total of 2,834.2 innings, went to 8 all-star games, been to 2 world series, and won the cy young award multiple times, in order to pitch well, Scherzer would need to adjust and learn from himself, if he doesn’t get injured again, he still has good potential to be an unstoppable pitcher like he used to be. If Scherzer can pitch under poor circumstances it will be likely, he’ll pitch well but if he cannot pitch well.
But unfortunately, there are far more reasons that can go against the possibility of him pitching better.
No, he can’t pitch like his past self:
Max Scherzer is getting older, and he isn’t like how he was when he was younger, old age can play a factor in him not being able to pitch as well as he was before, but another huge factor is injuries, Max Scherzer has been getting injured slightly more frequently. When he was in Washington, he knew what to do when he had a potential risk of getting injured, although it isn’t the same for him as it is now. According to Scherzer’s doctors the risk of getting reinjured is high and an injury nearing the end of his career could be fatal and he could miss out for a while, with this in effect it may be possible he might not be able to pitch many innings and not return to his Cy-Young-like form.
It really depends on how much gas does Max Scherzer have left in the tank, it could either way for the veteran, but him adjusting could be the factor that could help him pitch way better.
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