Scherzer, Paddack to miss time with injuries

Within the last day, there have been reports on a couple of starting pitchers who will be missing significant time due to injuries.

The bigger name, Max Scherzer, departed his start last night due to soreness in his left side. This morning, the news came out, via Jon Heyman on Twitter, that he has been diagnosed with an oblique strain. That is a big blow for the New York Mets, who are without Jacob deGrom until July, although the Mets have a six game lead in the N.L. East, which helps soften the blow. There’s no indication as to yet in regards to how long Scherzer will be out, but an oblique injury can sideline a pitcher for up to 2-3 months in some cases. (UPDATE — The Mets say Scherzer will be out six to eight weeks.)

How the Mets deal with the loss will depend, I suspect, on how long Scherzer is projected to be out, as well as the confidence level they have in deGrom getting back healthy. With the trade dealine two and a half months away, the Mets have time to see how the two of them progress, as well as how the rest of the rotation is able to hold up, before they need to make a decision on whether to add someone via trade.

The other news was more serious, injury-wise, as it has been determined that Chris Paddack will need Tommy John surgery. Paddack is a righthanded pitcher who was traded by the San Diego Padres right before the start of the season to the Minnesota Twins in a deal that brought reliever Taylor Rogers to San Diego. There was some discussion on LSB about whether the Rangers were, or should, be interested in Paddack, who was rumored all offseason to be available before the Padres finally dealt him.

The Twins may have a tough decision to make in regards to Paddack, who will have four years of service time accumulated at the end of the season. Since a 2019 rookie season that saw him put up a 3.33 ERA in 26 starts, Paddack has accumulated a negative bWAR, and the Twins may opt to non-tender Paddack rather than have him under contract for 2023, when he likely would only be available the final two months of the season, and then potentially for his final arbitration-eligible season in 2024.

I’m not sure either of these events would have been worth a story on their own, but together? Why not...