Updated Post – April 20, 2023, 11:25
John Harper of SNY reports that Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer has “zero chance” of avoiding the automatic 10-game suspension that comes with being ejected for using a sticky substance.
As I noted yesterday, if Scherzer does decide to appeal the suspension and he loses, then the Mets would not be able to replace him on the active 26-player roster.
Scherzer swears that it was just sweat and rosin, while umpire Dan Bellino said Scherzer’s hands were the stickiest he’s seen since MLB started doing the checks.
Original Post – April 19, 2023, 19:10
Max Scherzer was ejected from Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Dodgers for allegedly having foreign substances on his glove. Scherzer was forced to change his glove after a substance check following the bottom of the third inning, but, after umpires conducted another check on his new glove and his hands, he was thrown out of the game by crew chief Phil Cuzzi.
Scherzer could be seen getting animated with Cuzzi and home plate umpire Dan Bellino and appearing to say to them “it’s just rosin,” to no avail.
Scherzer got into it with the umps over his glove again and he's been ejected pic.twitter.com/kB4xGFtQ4Y
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 19, 2023
Following the game, all parties involved, including Scherzer, Cuzzi, and Bellino had a chance to share their side of the story.
Scherzer was adamant that his glove was only sticky due to a combination of sweat and rosin, saying that he told Cuzzi “I swear on my kids’ life, I’m not using anything else.”
Full explanation from Max Scherzer on the incident this afternoon. He is adamant that he did nothing wrong. pic.twitter.com/JF5KF9D0qu
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 19, 2023
Scherzer said he applied rosin and sweat in front of an MLB official, and noted that he would have to be “an absolute idiot” to use foreign substances in the fourth inning after he had already been forced to change his glove.
Scherzer’s agent, Scott Boras, also chimed in following the incident.
Scherzer’s agent, Scott Boras: “MLB standards and rules enforcement should mandate and require a objective verifiable standard. If you want to attack the integrity of the competition you need clear precise standards else you damage the game and it players…” (cont.)
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 19, 2023
For his part, Cuzzi, who has now been the umpire in all three of the MLB foreign-substance ejections since 2021, claimed that Scherzer had multiple chances to remove the sticky substance on his hand and failed to do so, which lead to the ejection. Cuzzi also said that Scherzer’s hand and glove were “far stickier than anything that we felt certainly today and anything this year.”
Bellino also said that he believed Scherzer’s hand and glove far exceeded the typical level of stickiness umpires see from pitchers.
More Dan Bellino on the Scherzer ejection: “As far as stickiness this was the stickiest that it has been since I have been inspecting hands, which goes back three seasons."
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) April 19, 2023
If Scherzer is deemed to have used foreign substances, it comes with an automatic 10-game suspension, according to MLB rules. He is allowed to appeal the ruling and state his case. There was initially some confusion about whether Scherzer was ejected for substances or for arguing with umpires, but Buck Showalter said after the game that Scherzer was ejected for rosin.
Just this week, Scherzer spoke with the the Foul Territory podcast about his thoughts on sticky substance checks from umpires coming off the incident at Yankee Stadium involving Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán being checked for rosin last weekend.
Despite his early ejection, the Mets held on to beat the Dodgers Wednesday, 5-3. Jimmy Yacabonis was called up to relieve Scherzer after his ejection and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing only one run.
If Scherzer is forced to miss time, the Mets will face a stretch where they will possibly be without four-fifths of their projected starting rotation. Justin Verlander is still on the mend, and Carlos Carrasco has been shut down for two weeks, at the minimum. Jose Butto, Joey Lucchesi, Denyi Reyes, and Dylan Bundy are potential options to fill in for Scherzer if he is in fact suspended.
