Scherzer exited Tuesday’s start in Toronto due to injury
Toronto — The Texas Rangers today announced the following roster moves prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre:
- Right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer placed on 15-day Injured List with right teres major muscle strain.
- Right-handed pitcher Jonathan Hernández recalled from Round Rock (AAA).
Scherzer, 39, has paired a 4-2 record with a 3.20 ERA (16 ER/45.0 IP) and 53 strikeouts/15 walks over 8 starts for Texas since being acquired in a trade with the New York Mets on July 30. He earned the win in his start last night at Toronto after tossing 5.1 shutout frames, but exited with one out in the sixth inning due to the injury (W, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 72 pitches/48 strikes). Major League Baseball’s active leader in career strikeouts (3,367), Scherzer is just the ninth pitcher in Washington/Texas franchise history to record 50-or-more strikeouts in his first 8 outings with the club.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner (2013, 2016-17) has gone 13-6 with a 3.77 ERA (64 ER/152.2 IP) and 174 strikeouts/45 walks in 27 starts for the Mets (19) and Rangers (8) this season. He currently ranks among Major League qualifiers in opponent batting average (8th, .221), strikeout percentage (8th, 28.0%), wins (T9th), and WHIP (14th, 1.12).
This will be Scherzer’s first stint on the Injured List this season. He spent time on the Injured List in 2022 with a left oblique strain (May 19-July 4) and left oblique irritation (September 4-18).
Hernández has gone 1-2 with a 6.45 ERA (16 ER/22.1 IP) and 25 strikeouts/14 walks in 26 relief appearances spanning two previous stints with Texas this season (Opening Day-June 4, August 26-27). His last appearance for the Rangers came in the team’s walk-off, 7-6 defeat on August 27 at Minnesota (L, 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R-0 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) in which he issued a game-ending, bases-loaded walk to Carlos Correa in the bottom of the 13th inning.
The 27-year-old has spent the balance of the season at Triple-A Round Rock, where he has posted a 1-1 record, 2 saves, a 1.13 ERA (4 ER/32.0 IP), and 32 strikeouts/21 walks in 24 relief outings. He is scoreless in his last 4 appearances for the Express (5.1 SHO IP), with his most recet work coming in the team’s 6-5 loss last night vs. Las Vegas (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 26 pitches/15 strikes).
Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with four players (Jacob deGrom, Brett Martin, Brad Miller, and Jake Odorizzi) on the 60-day Injured List.
