Both the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles will be missing a starter for the American League Division Series, as Max Scherzer (shoulder strain) and John Means (elbow soreness) are not on their team’s roster. Here’s what you need to know:
- Scherzer, 39, was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season on Sept. 13 and was deemed “unlikely” to pitch in the postseason.
- Means, 30, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and returned in early September to make four starts. He is expected to be available if the Orioles advance.
- Game 1 of the series begins at 1:03 p.m. ET Saturday at Camden Yards with Andrew Heaney on the mound for Texas and Kyle Bradish starting for Baltimore.
How Means’ absence impacts Baltimore’s plans
Means threw a simulated game earlier this week and came up sore. Manager Brandon Hyde said he’s not concerned about Means long-term and that the team expects he would be OK for the League Championship Series if the Orioles advance. Means pitched in four games during the regular season and was terrific, posting a 2.66 ERA over 23 2/3 innings, and would have likely been the club’s third starter.
Without him, and with the shorter nature of a five-game series, Hyde said the club will rely on starters Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer more. The O’s have not announced their Game 3 starter for Tuesday in Texas but it’s a safe bet one of those two will get the ball. — Brittany Ghiroli, senior MLB writer
Is Scherzer’s status surprising?
Scherzer was always a long shot to make the ALDS roster. Although he is feeling good, he is not fully stretched out and likely wouldn’t be available as a starter just yet.
The Rangers have left the door open for Scherzer to join the roster if another player gets injured. In that case, he would most likely be available for a short outing or bullpen appearance.
If the Rangers were to advance to the ALCS, Scherzer could be in a better position to get on the roster.
“With Max, he threw yesterday and he threw well,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Today got up and felt pretty good. But still, we didn’t feel like we had enough information where we could put him on the roster right now. He was not going to be available the first two games, so we decided not to put him on for that reason.
“We’ll continue his throwing, and he’ll continue to make progress, and we’ll see where we’re at as we get deeper in this series.” — Cody Stavenhagen, MLB staff writer
Follow The Athletic’s live coverage of the Rangers-Orioles series.
Required reading
(Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)