New York Mets right-hander Max Scherzer is nursing a hamstring injury that puts his availability in question when the team begins the regular season next week.
Scherzer was scratched from his start on Saturday due to a tight right hamstring. He labeled himself as day-to-day.
“I noticed something a couple days ago running,” Scherzer said. “My hamstring just tightened up. I didn’t feel like I strained it or anything.”
Scherzer, 37, is the presumptive Opening Day starter in place of ace Jacob deGrom, who is sidelined with a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade.
New York opens the season on Thursday against one of Scherzer’s former teams, the Washington Nationals.
Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets in the offseason.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner split the 2021 season between the Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers, finishing 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 30 starts (179 1/3 innings).
Scherzer was 7-0 with the Dodgers in the regular season and 0-1 in the postseason after being acquired in a July 30 trade with the Nationals that also brought infielder Trea Turner to Los Angeles.
Scherzer has a 190-97 career record with a 3.16 ERA in 407 games (398 starts). He leads all active pitchers with 3,020 strikeouts in 2,536 2/3 innings with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2008-09), Detroit Tigers (2010-14), Washington (2015-20) and L.A.
The eight-time All-Star won the Cy Young in the American League in 2013 and in the National League in 2016 and 2017. He won a World Series with Washington in 2019.
–Field Level Media