Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer and Baltimore Orioles left-hander John Means were left off their respective team’s rosters for their upcoming American League Division Series.
The Rangers’ move comes one day after Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, faced live batters for the time since straining the teres major muscle in his right shoulder on Sept. 12.
“He pitched yesterday and threw well and he said he felt pretty good this morning, but we felt like we didn’t have enough information to include him on the roster,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday. “He was going to miss the first two games anyway. He’ll keep progressing, and we’ll see where he stands in a few days.”
The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. The 39-year-old went 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for Texas before being placed on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 13.
The Rangers added left-hander Cody Bradford in place of right-hander Grant Anderson, who was on the team’s wild-card roster.
Means, who was a possible candidate to start Game 3 of the best-of-five series, is nursing a sore elbow. The 30-year-old is 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA in four starts since returning from Tommy John surgery in September.
–Field Level Media