Stop trading Scherzer:

Before Max Scherzer left last night’s game with an apparent injury (groin adjustment), there was a slight uptick in discussions about what the future holds for the three-time Cy Young award winner.

Jon Morosi, MLB Network Analyst reported earlier this week that his sources told him that the Washington Nationals, “are not yet ready to listen to the offers on Max Scherzer … but they are the last in the eastern NL and their state of mind could change in the coming weeks, “and the rumor mill with Scherzer is only going to gain momentum if the Nationals continue to struggle over the next few weeks, provided he returns from what has been diagnosed as a slight adjustment of his groin.

Scherzer, who turns 37 in July, is in the final year of his 7-year / $ 210 million contract with the Nats, and so far there has been no public report on the progress of a potential agreement to keep it. DC beyond 2021.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told FAN in Sports Junkies at DC 106.7 last Wednesday that the club have six weeks to assess what they have this season.

“We have about five or six weeks to see what we have before the trade deadline, and then we’ll make the decisions as we see fit,” said Rizzo, as quoted on NBC Sports Washington.

If they don’t change things up and come out of the basement in the East of the NL, although the club are not so far away that they are a lost cause at this point, will they sell by date? limit?

“Fortunately, the division gave us a chance. They’re keeping us in this case until we’re right, and we’ve been through this thing before, ”Rizzo said.

“Once we can get things done, we take off. “

If they don’t, will they actually consider trading Scherzer?

While Davey Martinez did not discuss the possibility, he offered his take on where Scherzer is when it comes to stuff, as he nears his 37th birthday.

Thanks to 12 starts and 77 IPs before last night, Scherzer had an ERA of 2.22, an FIP of 3.05, 1.75 BB / 9, 12.16 K / 9 and a line of 0.180 / .233 / .326 versus.

“For me right now, what I see about him is that he’s smart. He goes there, he knows when to step on it, ”Martinez said.

“He just knows how to throw and that extends what he does every day. It really is. The fact that he can go on 110 pitches and throw 97 MPH when he needs it is amazing, but it is a testament to how hard he works between his starts to prepare for those starts.

“I always look at him, I never really – you say he’s getting closer to 40 – I joke with him, I tell him, I say, ‘Hey, you’re still 30. You have a lot more in you. ‘And he loves it. “

Will what Scherzer has left over will be spent to support the Nationals cause in the future, or will he have a final baseball chapter elsewhere?

UPDATE: Scherzer said after the game he believed he avoided a serious injury. “It really is the best of times when it comes to injury, and I’m really going hand in hand and it could subside pretty quickly here.”

Management of the enclosure:

Davey Martinez knew Daniel Hudson hadn’t pitched in five days before relying on the often-used right-hander for 1 ²/₃ innings and a season-high tying 31 total shots in the club’s series final with the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday.

Martinez also used closer Brad Hand in the 9th and 10th innings of the second of the two with the Rays, bringing him to 44 throws, 15 throws more than his previous season’s high of 21, and the most he has. launched since 2016.

So how does Martinez balance the need to win close games and not overwork his top relievers?

“When you feel like you really have an opportunity to win a game,” explained Martinez, “… and these guys are readily available, as you know they are two of our best full backs in the box, you try to maximize their use. I know they haven’t launched in four days.

“We had to give one in case we needed it for today [Thursday]. The other guy, like I said, we used Hand because Huddy threw a lot.

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“So today we just have to be smart.

“Probably Hand is going to be down, but I guess Huddy, he threw [31] throws yesterday, he’ll come in like he always does, and say he’s good, but we’ve got to be smart to get him up and in, and not let him make four outs.

” That being said, [Wander] Suero threw the ball well, [Kyle] McGowin threw the ball well. [Paolo] Espino threw the ball well so these guys will be readily available today.

[ed. note – “All three pitchers he mentioned ended up having to pitch when Scherzer left the game in the first, and Sam Clay and Ryne Harper too.”]

Martinez, however, acknowledged that other relievers need to step in and give the club options at the back so they don’t always have to rely on Hudson and Hand.

“Absolutely,” Martinez said. “I know [Sam] Clay, Clay is going to have to throw in some high leverage situations, you know. And he can. I really believe he can. I talk about him a lot, and he’s been through minor league games before, so he understands high leverage situations, so it’s fair for him to come out. The most important thing for us is the walks.

“And we talk a lot about these guys coming into games in situations and not giving up free passes because when you give up free passes it creates great opportunities for the opponents. So, hey, if they’re gonna hit you, they’re gonna hit you, they’ve got a bat for a reason, so go ahead and throw some strikes and get some quick outs if you can. So the walks are what is frustrating.

“Guys come in and start walking guys, and as we all know you come in and you walk the first hitter, a lot of times this guy is going to score.

“So just come on and throw some strikes and let them put the ball in play, our defense has been really good, so let the defense play behind you.”

Do this, you will earn the manager’s trust and hopefully he will call on you and save Hudson and Hand from having to deal with all the high leverage end-of-round opportunities.

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An extra day off Thursday night probably helped everyone recover, and Martinez said ahead of that postponed game with the Giants of San Francisco that the team is watching everyone very closely.

“For me, it’s just looking at the workload these guys have had. [Tanner] Rainey, two days in a row with him. Hand [Wednesday] throw 45 throws. So we have to keep an eye on these two guys. The rest of these guys should be good to go.

Especially after a long flight home on which some players apparently slept well.

“The plane was really quiet last night, a lot of guys were sleeping. A lot of the guys had their headphones on, but it was pretty quiet so hopefully they’ve all had a rest and are ready to go today.

Espino, McGowin, Suero, Harper and Clay combined to cover 8 ²/₃ innings after Scherzer left the mound, which, going into a doubles program today, was not ideal.

“Proud of all these guys,” Martinez said after the game. “Let’s just hope they can launch tomorrow.”

QUICK HITS – Strasbourg; Harris; Voth:

Updates on Stephen Strasburg, who was diagnosed with nerve irritation in his neck and placed on 10-day IL on June 3, after already running out of time on IL with inflammation in his right shoulder earlier this season?

“Nothing,” Martinez said yesterday. “Actually he’s right – he came to the stadium, he did some kind of training and left, so nothing new.”

Has he spoken to the pitcher?

“I haven’t spoken to him today, but like I said it’s going on, it’s frustrating for him,” Martinez said.

“I know we’re trying to figure things out, but hopefully in the next few days something will happen. We’ll see. Right now he’s just – like I said, we just want him to rest and see if his nerves calm down a bit.

And how about Will Harris (surgery after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome) or Austin Voth (hit by a throw to the face last weekend in Philadelphia; broken nose)?

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“I spoke to Will and Austin both,” Martinez said.

– Will, I saw yesterday. He was in the club house, he was being treated. He said he felt great and couldn’t wait to be back on the mound to help us win and throw.

“Voth that I saw yesterday, the swelling has decreased considerably. He can open his eye now.

“In fact, he was able to ride a bike. He went out and kind of threw the baseball a short distance away, and he said he felt good.

“Now all that is left is to wait for the swelling to completely subside until he can do more baseball activities.”

While Harris’ takeover is a long-term thing, a timeline for Voth?

“It will be an overnight thing,” the manager said. “But with the hope that once these 10 days are over, he will be near.”