Max Scherzer’s spot on the All-Star roster has been filled by a replacement, and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter) that the three-time Cy Young Award winner has elected not to participate in the exhibition because of a minor back issue that dates back to his start against the Tigers a week ago.
As Dougherty notes, the injury is not especially serious; Scherzer expects to make his next regular-season start without issue, hopefully benefitting from the extended rest period. The back issue flared up in yesterday’s game, so it’s no surprise that Scherzer and the Nationals will take precaution in hopes that nothing gets worse over the break.
Though he won’t be playing in the Midsummer Classic, Scherzer will still travel to Cleveland to partake in the All-Star festivities. It’s the seventh time that the 34-year-old has been named an All-Star, all of which have come since 2013, when he broke out with the Tigers. Scherzer has been a model of durability in his career, having made 30 or more starts in every season since 2009, and as of now there’s no reason to believe that streak will end in 2019.
For what it’s worth, Scherzer seems to have been unfazed by the injury: he followed up his 14-strikeout outing in Comerica Park with seven innings of shutout ball on Saturday, looking as electric as ever. Of course, that’s easy to say from the outside looking in, and recent performance shouldn’t discount the injury.
Still, it’s promising for baseball fans that Scherzer, who has been an iron man throughout his career, has shown that he can pitch through the injury if needed, and doesn’t expect to miss any meaningful games for the playoff-hopeful Nationals. Washington has ridden Scherzer’s excellence to a 46-42 record that lands the club on the brink of playoff contention. Since a dreadful start that saw the team fall to a 19-31 record, they’ve reversed their fortune on the back of stellar performances from Scherzer and Anthony Rendon, among others.
It’s all those stolen bases.
I wonder if he’s really sore….or if it’s an excuse to get out of a pointless game he has played in a few times already and instead rest…..
Yeah, cause Max is that kind of guy that you need to question his motivation….
Uhhh it’s the team’s choice. He already got the nod for it, they don’t take that away, why are you sticking up for him like that???? Know how things work before posting, thx
Any decision the team makes re: Scherzer is most certainly going to involve a discussion with him.
With all of those replacements (Yelich is out of the HR derby as well now), one has to wonder if the teams make sure their top players get the rest instead of playing this game. Maybe it’s time to cancel it.
They need to move it to after the season ends and before the playoffs begin and no players on playoff teams are eligible to play, and playoff teams get some rest before the postseason begins—boom problem solved
Before you do your mic drop, check out how well that works for the NFL.
That’s a horrible idea. There’s still plenty of star power in the all star game and HRD. You would have less stars in the game if you did it with your idea. You would never see guys like mookie betts, Cody bellinger, Aaron judge, Justin Verlander and all those guys who are on teams that consistently make the playoffs. As a fan I would much rather see a few players not play as an injury precaution in July than have half the deserving all stars not on the team because they’re all in the playoffs
I’m a Braves fan so I should want him to go get gurt during the all-star game. But I’m a human too and if Sherzer DID decide to use this time to rest I would completely support this. As competitive as Sherzer is I find it difficult to believe he is trying to take time off though.
Ontop of all that I simply hate the way the All-Star game is constructed so if any pitcher decided to use the time to rest more I would be completely on board even if they didnt have an injury.
The only event I have even the remotest care for is the home run dirby.
What a lie, just tell the truth and say they don’t want to waste him getting hurt in a meaningless game
That’s exactly what the nationals said. They said it was a precaution to avoid a major injury. I don’t understand where the lie is
Gray is replacing him? bleh, lame choice.