The season is back on.
Mets right-hander Max Scherzer has thrown his critical Tuesday morning bullpen in Port St. Lucie and his hamstring held up. He plans to make his scheduled start Friday in Washington against the Nationals, according to The New York Post.
That, of course, is the second game of the season. So it looks like Tylor McGill will be getting the ball on Thursday, Opening Day, against the Nats. That keeps the rotation on schedule with ace Jacob deGrom on the shelf for a while with a stress reaction on his right scapula.
Then again, the forecast calls for rain Thursday. So the opener could be washed out and pushed back a day, at which point Scherzer would be starting. But that is all inconsequential to the main point, which is that the righty is OK.
Scherzer was scratched from his last spring tune-up last Saturday after feeling hamstring tightness earlier in the week. The 37-year-old has dealt with hammy flare-ups throughout his career, but they typically subside quickly. The Mets need Scherzer to stay healthy now that deGrom will not throw for four weeks and, best case scenario, probably won’t be back until June.
Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets this winter — the largest annual average value in MLB history at $43.3 million.
