Rangers' Max Scherzer encouraged by rehab, eyes earlier return - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the Texas Rangers begin defense of their first World Series title, the news surrounding ailing ace Max Scherzer keeps getting brighter.

Scherzer, 39, underwent back surgery in December to address a herniated disk, and while he will begin 2024 on the injured list, his stay there might not be as long as initially expected. Rather than placing Scherzer on the 60-day IL, which would have ensured his absence for the first two months of the season, Texas put him on the 15-day list.

That bodes well for Scherzer's recovery, even as he is for the time being still in spring training mode.

«It's kind of early February for me right now,» said Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner. «Just have to come in and continue to do the rehab, do the process, and hopefully I'm back out there sooner than later.»

Scherzer threw two innings in a bullpen session Tuesday, his highest-stress action since the surgery. He came out of it encouraged by his body's response.

«That was a good work day,» Scherzer said. «My body felt good the next day, so that was a big check mark for me. But in my head, I'm in early February.»

Still, there is plenty of work to do before Scherzer takes the mound for the champs in a real game.

«It's one thing to throw a bullpen,» Scherzer said. «It's another thing to get into a game, then you start to ramp up pitch count. So there's still a number of hurdles to cross.»

The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the Mets at last season's trade deadline. He pitched well for Texas, going 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA over eight starts, but also battled injury. First, he was diagnosed with a strained right teres major muscle in mid-September that was expected to end his season.

Instead, Scherzer returned during Texas' ALCS