Washington Nationals All-Star starting pitcher is heading back to the IL with a back injury, which is not positive news for the team’s current playoff chase.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who is considered to be one of the favorites for this year’s pitching prize, is dealing yet again with a rhomboid strain, an issue that caused him to miss two weeks earlier this season.
The Nationals are still unsure of exactly how long Scherzer will need to rest his injured back. While a mild rhomboid strain isn’t the most serious injury, it’s already been shown to be a problem that’s prone to be reoccurring for the 35-year-old veteran. For this reason, Washington may opt for caution, allowing the righty to completely heal before allowing him to return to action.
Scherzer has arguably been the best starting pitcher in all of baseball this season, posting a 2.41 ERA (2nd in Major League Baseball) along with 189 strikeouts (2nd) and 5.7 fWAR (1st).
The Nationals have recalled triple-A starter Erik Fedde to replace Scherzer’s spot in the rotation during his absence.
Washington will certainly hope that Scherzer is able to return to its rotation sooner, rather than later, as they are in the midst of a division race with the Braves. They are currently 4.5 games back of Atlanta and leading in the NL Wild Card race.
