Scherzer, deGrom making progress for Texas
ARLINGTON, Texas — The World Series champion Texas Rangers have two multiple Cy Young Award winners who could return to their rotation sometime in the middle of the summer.
Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer said Saturday that he is progressing from December surgery to repair a herniated disk in his lower back, while two-time winner Jacob deGrom plans to resume throwing this spring after elbow surgery that ended his Rangers debut after only six starts.
“When we get us back here, hopefully somewhere around the trade deadline, it’s like picking up a couple guys,” deGrom (inset bottom) said during the team’s annual FanFest.
Scherzer (inset top) was a trade-deadline acquisition for the Rangers last summer, and he was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder. He started twice in the AL Championship Series, but then was forced from his start in Game 3 of the World Series after three innings because of back discomfort that eventually led to surgery on Dec. 15.
“We won the World Series, so everything’s great,” Scherzer said. “You’ve got to keep the glass half-full mentality to this.”
The 39-year-old right-hander said he got checked out by doctors right after the season, and an MRI showed a little inflammation in his back. Scherzer said he started feeling better before experiencing nerve pain in his leg, and then twice had epidural injections before another MRI revealed the herniated disk.
“I wasn’t doing anything. Like I wish I could tell you that that was actually jumping off a boat or something crazy,” Scherzer said. “I’m literally hobbling around chasing kids. That was the most extent of what I was doing.”
Scherzer said he has gotten past a crucial six-week period post-surgery without any complications.
“Now it’s just in the stage of just building back up of where I can get back into it and at the same time [figuring out] how to keep the arm primed as you’re navigating something where the biggest concerns are bending, lifting, twisting,” he said.
His 3,367 strikeouts are the most among active pitchers. He was 13-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 27 starts for the Mets and Rangers last season, with 174 strikeouts in 152⅔ innings. As part of the July 30 trade to Texas, Scherzer exercised his 2024 option, and the Mets will pay Texas $30,833,334, leaving the pitcher’s cost to Texas at $12.5 million.
Former Mets star deGrom went to Texas last offseason on a $185 million, five-year deal that had a conditional option to add 2028 based on the elbow surgery that limited him to 30 ⅓ innings. He was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA with 45 strikeouts as the Rangers won all six games he started; they would have missed the playoffs if they didn’t win at least three of those games.
The 35-year-old DeGrom said he has started doing a plyometric training program that he will have to complete before he resumes throwing at some point this spring.
“My arm’s feeling really good,” he said. “It’s just what is smart. You don’t want to push it because you want to continue to pitch here for the next however many years. So that’s where we’ve got to kind of take a look at what is the best plan moving forward, whenever that time comes.”
CUBS TO ADD RELEIVER NERIS
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs and Héctor Neris have agreed to a $9 million, one-year contract, giving manager Craig Counsell another late-inning arm for his bullpen, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The contract includes a team option that converts to a player option if Neris appears in 60 games, according to the person who spoke to the AP on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the agreement is pending a physical.
The 34-year-old Neris went 6-3 with a 1.71 ERA in 71 games with Houston last season. The right-hander has made at least 60 appearances six times, including each of the last three years.
Neris likely will slot in as one of Chicago’s primary setup men for Adbert Alzolay, who had 22 saves in 25 chances in 2023 in his first season as the closer. The Cubs also have Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. at the back of their bullpen.
Chicago is looking for its first playoff appearance since it was eliminated by Miami in an NL Wild Card Series in 2020. The Cubs were in position for a wild card last year before stumbling in September, fading to an 83-79 record after finishing under .500 in the previous two seasons.
Counsell was hired in November, replacing David Ross in a surprising move. The Cubs also added to their rotation when they finalized a $53 million, four-year contract with Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga on Jan. 11.
Michael Busch was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers to play first base, but Chicago still could use a big bat for its lineup. It is hoping to re-sign Cody Bellinger, who is a free agent after putting together a resurgent season with the Cubs.
Neris made his big league debut with Philadelphia in 2014 and spent his first eight seasons with the Phillies. He signed a $17 million, two-year contract with Houston in November 2021. He declined his part of an $8.5 million mutual option for 2024 with the Astros and became a free agent.
Neris is 33-36 with a 3.24 ERA and 89 saves in 546 career games.