Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer is on the road to recovery after landing on the injured list with a mid-back strain.
Manager Dave Martinez told reporters Wednesday that Scherzer played catch from 90 feet, that he may throw a light bullpen on Thursday. If he does, and if it goes well he could be in line to start Sunday, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
Scherzer is eligible to come back on Saturday, July 20. The Nationals are clearly not in a huge rush to push him into action and want to ensure he’s fully capable of making it through a start without any setbacks.
Given how dominant Scherzer has been in recent years, it’s not hard to see why. The three-time Cy Young winner is cruising this year with a 2.30 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, along with 181 strikeouts in just over 129 innings of work.