Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets reinstated Max Scherzer from the injured list Tuesday afternoon ahead of a start with the Reds. In order to make room on the 26-man roster, the Mets have designated for assignment relief pitcher Chasen Shreve.
Scherzer is making his return to the rotation on Tuesday. He has not pitched since May 18 after being sidelined with an oblique injury. Before landing on the IL, Scherzer had gone 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA (160 ERA+) in eight starts for New York. In his last start before the official injury news, Scherzer allowed two runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 innings against the Cardinals.
The 37-year-old made two rehab starts for Binghamton over the last week-and-a-half, reaching 80 pitches in his final appearance. He should be able to reach that pitch count, if not higher, in his Tuesday start.
He’ll help bolster a rotation that has seen a combination of David Peterson and Trevor Williams make appearances in his place. Since May 19, those two pitchers have combined to allow 32 earned runs in 70 innings (12 starts and five relief appearances). That’s good for a 4.11 ERA.
Jacob deGrom, having made his first rehab start Sunday, is just a couple of weeks behind Scherzer on the recovery trail. His return should allow Peterson and Williams to move to roles in the bullpen.
As for Shreve, he has struggled for the better part of his second stint in Queens. He holds a 6.49 ERA in 26 1/3 innings and has allowed six home runs across 25 games pitched. In his last two games pitched in June–both against the Astros–Shreve allowed seven runs in 1 1/3 innings, allowing three walks and two home runs. After those two meltdown performances, he became the team’s most expendable pitching piece.
As of mid-June, a team is only allowed to keep 13 pitchers on its 26-man roster. The Mets were at their max before this move, so with the return of one pitcher, another pitcher had to go in his place.
