Max Scherzer is one of a trio of key Rangers starters who’ll open the season on the injured list. The three-time Cy Young winner underwent surgery in mid-December to repair a disc herniation in his back. The team announced at the time that the injury would keep him out of action into June or July.
It appears things are going well in the early stages of Scherzer’s rehab process. Manager Bruce Bochy told MLB Network this week the team envisions the star righty being back on an MLB mound by June (X link). The veteran skipper said that’s “a little bit earlier” than the team initially expected. Bochy indicated the club was shooting for a July return for offseason signee Tyler Mahle and a potential August timetable on Jacob deGrom, both of whom are working back from Tommy John procedures.
A few other health notes around the league:
- Brendan Donovan is preparing for a rebound after his 2023 season was cut short. An injury to his throwing arm initially required the Cardinals infielder to move to designated hitter. With the team out of contention by the trade deadline, Donovan shut things down and underwent season-ending surgery. While that was initially reported as a flexor tendon repair in his forearm, Donovan clarified to John Denton of MLB.com that he actually had an internal brace procedure to fix the UCL in his elbow (on X). The 27-year-old is back in action this spring and should split most of his time with Nolan Gorman between second base and DH.
- Reds starter Nick Lodolo was limited to seven appearances in 2023 because of a stress reaction in his left tibia. That bothersome issue kept him out of action from mid-May on. The southpaw apparently isn’t quite at 100%. Lodolo has yet to make his Spring Training debut because of residual leg discomfort on days after his bullpen or live batting practice sessions, manager David Bell told reporters (link via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The Reds are sending Lodolo for additional testing on the bone before deciding on the next step in his build-up process. That’s at least somewhat alarming, although Bell said the team is still hopeful that Lodolo will avoid opening the season on the injured list.
- The Rays lost one of their depth infielders to what’ll be a fairly significant injury. Yu Chang will be out six to eight weeks after suffering an oblique strain, manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (relayed on X). That was the concern when the team revealed that Chang was dealing with left side soreness earlier in the week. The defensive specialist is in camp on a minor league contract. He had a shot at securing an Opening Day bench spot, particularly with Taylor Walls opening the season on the IL, but that’s no longer in play. The Rays have declared José Caballero their expected starter at shortstop. Recent free agent pickup Amed Rosario is on hand as a multi-positional option who’d likely be Caballero’s primary backup.
All the “fans” said the Reds had enough starting pitching. Those who know better saw the signs that they didn’t.
Lodolo was already going to be on an innings limit as it is, now it’s even worse. Really jarring how PO Boy decided to spend what limited money the Reds had on Jeimer instead of another starter. Good luck Reds fans…
It’s why they signed Nick Martinez.
I think counting Lodolo as a starter was the bigger joke. He’s the 7th option healthy
Greene
Montas
Ashcraft
Abbott
Martinez
Phillips
Lodolo
You could argue lowder in front of him too. Only loss was to the bullpen if he can’t get back healthy
You forgot Brandon Williamson and Connor Overton is still around as well. Reds have depth and you can’t rule out the possibility of an addition either through free agency or waivers as spring training goes on
Whiffa: Greene looks like a 5-6 IP guy, always thought he was overrated due to fastball, I think he’s gonna blow his arm out because he throws so hard, suspect that’s why he agreed to that extension deal instead of waiting. Montas is still an injury risk until shown otherwise. I would argue healthy Lodolo is the #1 because he was reliable. Ashcraft has always seemed like a bit of smoke & mirrors to me. Everyone else is young with potential but unproven. It could turn out great, or it could turn out to be a disaster.
Belongs to the Reds has a valid point; the starters are generally still unproven. They really needed one good, stable veteran like Burnes or Montgomery. They’re clearly hoping Montas is that guy but that’s a bet I don’t think they should have made.
Yeah but those guys didn’t finish the season hurt like Lodolo did. Not only was he hurt, he tried to come back a couple times and was eventually shut down for the season. Writing on the wall yeasties; not a hypothetical scenario. He came into camp 7/8 on the depth chart and reds clearly were not counting on him (or India) in their offseason plans.
I really like a Montas/Greene 1/2 ! Greene is 24 years old and hasn’t even hit his prime and Montas seems healthy. I agree on ashcraft but he’s serviceable. Abbott and Phillips are the wild cards; If they take a step forward this will be a dynamic rotation. They got the talent; now is the time to turn it into experience!
Abbott?
Lodolo has a ton of potential, but also a ton of fragility. He has yet to prove he can stay healthy. The Reds have several other options but I agree on Candelario. Granted McClain is hurt, but you have India (also hurt), and Steer who could move to 2nd or third. Marte could move to 2B. Then you have Arroyo who appears to be the Reds SS of the future. Why spend that much money on Candelario when it could have been used toward another starter?.
Because they expected India to not be healthy to start the season. So they lured a quality bat division rival
For 45 million for 3 seasons. McClain is expected to be the 2nd baseman. It seems a temp could be had much more cheaply. They signed a couple of those.
You got me lol. I can’t go off defending reds front office moves to deep. They baffle me too !
It doesn’t make any sense. They could have put that money on pitching.. If Arroyo pans out like they think, we could have a log jam in the the OF as well as DeLaCruz likely moves out there. Then there is Benson looking good as well.. It should all shake out by mid season.
Arroyo has the highest ceiling in reds organization next to de la Cruz imo. In the age of 20!6324 olds making debuts I would not be surprised if he’s ready this year. If so, Cruz may have to move to center field
And what’s crazy is they aren’t far off from a pitching log jam either. MLB projects lowder as mlb ready this season and Lyon Richardson is ready for trial too. Aguilar not far behind and petty. Thats 11/12 starters all under team control
Log jams are good. It means they have drafted, traded and developed well. Log jams at pitcher are good if you can hold some of them in the minors until needed. Really the same for position players. Players like Barreo may be at the end of the rope however.
I’d say that the healthy sp list for the Reds is: Abbott, Montas, Greene, Williamson, Ashcraft, Martinez, Phillips, Richardson, Spiers, and Petty. Lodolo will rise to the top of that list if/when completely healthy.
All of the wannabe “GMs” think they know better than the FO who actually has legit info on each pitcher. Fact is that the Reds go 8 or 9 deep with more help on the way as the season progresses.
The fact that this story leads off with the Rangers being down THREE starters seems to elude the all knowing wannabe GM. How many deep does Texas go?
All the “fans” stopped taking anything you have to say seriously months ago
Yep, “fans”, meaning me of course, are very distressed because the Reds are down to 12 starting pitchers for 5 spots. I have cried myself to sleep because Lodolo may not be ready to go on day one. After all, the past 2 years his 100-0 win total and his miniscule .001 e.r.a. have blown away any comparison with normal pitchers. I fear the Reds may never recover from the loss of such a superstar and think maybe this tragedy will cause the team to disband or at least wear black armbands all season with the words, “Nick, we hardly knew ya”, inscribed on them. But in all reality I think the manager just shrugged his shoulders and yelled,”NEXT”, out to the bullpen and one of the other 50 pitchers in camp took Nick’s place in line.
lol
did u mention bullpen ? Lodolo ever get healthy again – that’s the perfect place for him ! Next coming of hadar if I may be so bold
This one belongs to the reds.. This one belongs in the ridiculous column. They call this precautionary. I understand the investment involved in today’s athletes and the approach towards injuries. What I don’t understand is the continuous overblown response to the media. They’re drama queens! Bell never expressed any unenthusiam whatsoever, other than the word precautionary, and suddenly it’s a dramatic event. Players of the 60’s and 70’s have to be laughing their collective asses off.
How is Lodolo still dealing with the stress reaction 9 months later??
Not particularly well, it seems.
deGrom, Scherzer, Verlander, Senga… just imagine the IL the Mets could have right now!!
“The IL the Mets could have”…But wisely, the Mets adjusted their team building strategy when it was clear the old one wasn’t working. Thanks to that astute decision, they now only have only one of those sore armed, injured pitchers. Plus, they gained decent prospects in the Verlander & Scherzer deals.
Meanwhile, the Rangers won the WS.
true. but not with much help (if really ANY at all) from the guys the Mets sent over.
still excited to have those guys in TX, but we’ll see how it goes this summer.
The words Yu Chang and significant should not be in the same sentence. Chang was a very recent pickup after languishing around for most of the off season.
So because he was a recent pickup, he can’t have a “significant injury?”
Chang had a bizarre “Dad power” streak where he hit 3 Home Runs over a 6 game stretch after becoming a father. Thats the only thing “significant” he did in Boston
Reds should sign Bauer.
@BforBrad: Say the fans of every team.
Every team should be looking at him.
In disgust!
deGrom great signing! A lot of value!
Such a lazy take. They won every game he started. He helped recruit players to the team and Bochy may not come if the Rangers don’t sign him. The Rangers don’t win the WS without him.
It is a patently absurd statement that the Rangers don’t win the World Series without deGrom. The signing was absolutely a mistake. But who cares? They won the World Series. That’s the important thing. Yes they won every start that he won… all six of them. The signing was a mistake. Don’t double down with ridiculous statement.
The Rangers finished the season with a 90-72 and won a WC berth by +1.0 games over the Mariners so I think you may be undermining the significance of those six games he pitched in which the Rangers won.
Yes, but had someone else pitched those games it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have still won them. Or even if they had lost some of them everything would’ve been different the rest of the season and it doesn’t mean all the same results would’ve happened. So sure, in some small way it helped that they won those starts, but the idea that without him they wouldn’t have won the World Series is just a ridiculous stretch.
Say Adam Wainwright? I get what you mean though.
It’s ok that you don’t follow the Rangers closely. No one is holding it against you.
Anyone who thinks that the Rangers wouldn’t have won the World Series last year without Jacob deGrom obviously doesn’t follow the Rangers close enough.
“Such a lazy take”…A much stronger argument, is that the reason Texas had to wait until the trade deadline to fortify the starting pitching and bullpen was that Jacob Degrom was weighing down and taking up so much payroll.
6/6 is a stupid small sample size. The Rangers won IN SPITE of deGrom.
Rangers went 6-0 in his starts and won a World Series so I’ll take it all day.
Yes, nobody is debating that the Rangers went 6-0. But his contract is a disaster. That’s my only point. And to say that they wouldn’t have won a World Series without him last year is insane. They won a World Series. Great for them. But why do people have to act like the Rangers didn’t make a mistake. DeGrom was a mistake. Plain and simple but again, so what, they won the World Series. Not everyone is perfect in the moves they make.
this will be discussed again after/if he comes back. I’ll hold on the ‘disaster’ talk until after then.
Coming off Tommy John he’s probably gonna come throwing 105 miles an hour lol.
Since were talking his second Tommy John, probably even faster.
He’s old and has had two Tommy John surgeries. I would be shocked of he’s anywhere near the same pitcher ever again. I don’t think he’s going to be even pitching much going forward. I personally think his career is done in the way we known him. The proof will be whenever he comes back, but that’s my opinion.
I think it’s likely his career as a dominant pitcher is pretty much over. He’s old and has had two Tommy John surgeries. I certainly don’t know this for a fact, but that’s my prediction.
Yeah, except that’s not the way it works. Go look at the history of second Tommy John surgeries.
Kyle… The difference between DeGrom and his 2.67 era and a starter with a 4.00 era since were only talking 6 GS and 30.1 IP is 4 lousy earned runs.
That’s 4 earned runs spread out over 6 games.
It’s a wee bit out there to credit such a minimal impact with being the difference of winning the World Series. The Rangers scored 38 runs in those 6 starts while giving up 18 er (he pitched 4 IP or less in 3 of them). They outscored their opponent by no less than 3 runs in any of those games. That’s even counting DeGrom’s Ranger Debut on opening day: 3.2 IP, 6 xbh, 5 er’s.
I’d imagine Chris Young had a lot more to do with Bochy coming to Tex than any single player.
You can imagine all you would like. It has been stated that Bochy came to Texas because he saw what was being built, and liked the team that had been put together. If you don’t think signing deGrom was a major part of that thought process, then I dont know what to tell you.
Look, the Rangers win the World Series last year and I’m glad for them. They’ve never won one so good for them. But this idea that they wouldn’t have won a World Series without signing Jacob deGrom is just plain insane. And I’m certain whether deGrom signed there or not, Bochy would have signed on as their manager. Come on.
Oh! Well as long as you’re certain…
Can you imagine a more comfortable transition managing a new team in a league you never managed in or played in while getting to join a staff ran by a pitcher that was in your rotation for numerous years in Chris Young with two other coaches in Nick Hundley and Will Venable that you know extremely well having managed both?
Sure being a talented roster was an important factor, but to give the credit of him joining the Rangers only happening with DeGrom signing doesn’t seem accurate at all. We are after all talking about a starter who made 26 starts the previous 2 years and hadn’t pitched 100 innings in a season since 2019. Way too hard for me to fathom that was why he joined the Rangers when there are tons of more logical explanations.
Regardless I too am very happy the Rangers won the World Series after barely getting in… good for them and it provides hope for some of us fans of the teams who could be in the same bucket.
Sure is a long response only to mix up “only reason” vs “major part”.
Oh good then it’s settled. I’m right! Lol.
That’s right diggin4three. Spoken like a true Cardinal fan who really knows what is going on with our team.
IOW, “we have hope:” that if all goes well, we won’t be as bad as it probably will be.
Like $12 a month
Mine is $18 a month way to high but you get a lot of free games
deGrom will be back in August… just in time for a new stint on the IL.
Mocking DeGrom or thinking it’s crazy he got 180m despite having not thrown a 100 IP in THREE years are two very different things.
It would have awesome if we could have seen what kind of career he could have had with 250% better health. He probanly debuted too old to be an all time great, bit maybe not. Regardless he was damn lucky to still manage to get what, a top 10 or 15 contract guarantee for a pitcher considering his health in the years leading up to free agency. Hard to think of a comparable in that same situation. Most take a 2 year high AAV with an opt out (i.e. Rodon) to prove their health before getting the bag.
It should have been telling when Cohen and the Mets while at the height of having the highest payroll in the sports history and spending with somewhat reckless abandon that they were fine letting him walk.
Well said.
Homer Bailey er, Lodolo is supposed to be our savior… in all seriousness though I’ve been more excited about his potential above all. It be a shame if this type of nagging injury prevented him from ever fulfilling said potential.