Mets' Max Scherzer ready to move on from sticky-substance episode
Max Scherzer knows his return to the rotation — as well as those of Justin Verlander and Carlos Carrasco — are key to Mets’ performance. Credit: Getty Images/Katelyn Mulcahy
DETROIT — On the brink of returning from his foreign-substance suspension, the only such punishment issued by MLB in a year and a half, Max Scherzer still was fired up about the whole episode Tuesday afternoon.
But he is ready to move on, too, which he will when he faces the Tigers on Wednesday, when the Mets will play a doubleheader at 1:40 p.m. and 6:40 p.m.
During a pre-comeback media session in the visitors’ clubhouse at Comerica Park, Scherzer kept his answers on the subject blunt and matter of fact.
On the toughest part of the past two weeks: “It all sucked.”
On his 10-game ban dragging on because of rainouts, pushing back his return by two days: “Nothing you can do about it. It’s out of my control, so I can’t get mad about it.”
On the approach to applying rosin in the future, after being deemed having used too much in his most recent start: “I’m not going to go into process, because if you have a process, that’s cheating.”
The forecasted conditions for Wednesday, cloudy and maybe rainy with a high of 54, is the kind of weather in which pitchers usually go for a little more rosin so that they can get a better grip on the ball.
“He knows what to do. I’ve got a lot of trust in him,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Rosin and a mud-covered ball aren’t real conducive for grips in this type of weather. It’s going to be hard for every pitcher, not just Max.”
Scherzer likely will be limited to about 90 pitches or five or six innings, according to Showalter.
The major reason why: He has thrown just three innings the past three weeks. Before the suspension, he was dealing with back soreness that Scherzer referred to as “an ailment, not an injury.” After his league-mandated down time, he feels “I got my back in the right spot,” he said.
With Scherzer and Justin Verlander (Thursday) back and Carlos Carrasco expected to join them next week, the Mets’ rotation is closer to whole than it has been.
“When the starting rotation goes and guys are chewing up innings, it saves innings on the bullpen,” Scherzer said. “Then those guys start getting into roles. When they get into roles, they get comfortable, they start pitching better. It all feeds itself. So much of how the team performs comes down to starting pitching.”
Homecomings
Verlander’s Mets debut — hours after Scherzer pitches — will come against their old team. Verlander pitched here from 2005-17, with Scherzer joining for 2010-14.
“It’s funny how baseball works,” Verlander said of the coincidence.
Scherzer has been back just once, in 2019, since leaving for a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Nationals prior to the 2015 season. Verlander has made two starts here, in 2018 and 2019, both with the Astros.
“A lot of great memories here. The five years I was here were arguably the best five years in the recent history for the Tigers,” Scherzer said. “To be a part of that run, it was awesome. We had such great teams, good players. This is where I developed. I came into my own here.”
Minors details
A nobody in the world of prospect rankings, Nathan Lavender is turning himself into a somebody in the eyes of Mets decision-makers — including Showalter.
They promoted Lavender, a 23-year-old lefthanded reliever, to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday after an excellent month with Double-A Binghamton: 1.74 ERA in seven games and 10 1/3 innings. He struck out 19 and walked three.
That came on the heels of a spring training in which Lavender was a frequent call-over from minor-league camp to help finish out Grapefruit League games. He didn’t allow a run in five appearances.
“He was nails,” Showalter said. “He was a guy that caught my eye . . . He was a guy that stood out among the people that were brought over. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s done well in Double-A and is going to move to Triple-A.”
The Mets drafted Lavender in the 14th round in 2021.
Extra bases
Hitting coach Jermey Barnes was absent because he had a stomach bug, Showalter said. Assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske would have filled in . . . Showalter continued to talk up Carrasco’s recovery from pain from the bone spur in his right elbow, noting that he is to go on a rehab assignment soon.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
