Why Texas Rangers Ace Max Scherzer Left Camp And Why He's So Happy About Medicine Ball Work

Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer has been cleared to begin his normal spring training ramp-up program, which includes his beloved medicine ball.

Max Scherzer is back in Texas Rangers camp after spending several weeks recovering from back surgery in Florida.

The three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer has begun his typical spring training build-up, a positive sign that Scherzer is on track to return to the club as early as late May.

"I'm not looking to beat any [return] date. I haven't put any timeline on it. I don't look it in those terms," Scherzer told reporters on Friday. "I just look at it day by day; what can I do? Can I do more? Or do I have to do less each day? If you start playing that end game, then you start thinking about what date you can [return], that's when you get in trouble."

That's, in part, why Scherzer left camp after the first 10 days or so to continue his recovery at home. Being around his teammates ramping up and gaining their competitive edge was too much of an unwanted temptation for him. Out of sight, out of mind prevented Scherzer from feeling like he was chasing an earlier return.

"If I'm around here in this clubhouse, you got the competitive juices going, you've got the season, you see games, you start missing out, and you want to ramp up; you want to go now," he said. "I needed to get out of that environment. I needed to be in my own environment where I was doing my own thing, my own rehab program. And gradually take it a step at a time and respect the process."

He's been given full clearance to ramp up his throwing program, the same one he'd normally use at the start of spring training. That includes pushing a little more each day and evaluating how his body responds.

"It's a day-by-day thing. That's how I want to keep it," he said.

His favorite thing about getting back into camp and ramping up? Working with the medicine ball.

"The biggest thing right now, because of how much I've been shut down, is really getting some med ball tosses back in," Scherzer said. "That was the No. 1 thing I've been craving. I haven't been able to do that, and I just got cleared. So that will really loosen everything back up."

He'll start sprinting and jumping and "doing all the things that allow me to be the best athlete I can possibly be," said Scherzer, who turns 40 in July. "That's usually when the throwing ramps up behind that. That's where I'm at right now. I respect the process of navigating as I'm ramping up and keep going forward. Taking it day by day and listening to my body and what it can and can't do."

Max Scherzer on having former #Mets teammate David Robertson join the #TexasRangers bullpen and what it will take to repeat. pic.twitter.com/hvf7TThZH8

— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) February 18, 2024

He's started a two-week long toss program but has yet to hit "another gear," the final gear where "I can throw the ball as far as I can."

"I'm working to get to that last final gear where I can throw the ball as far as I can," he said. "Once you get there, then you can start introducing mound work. That's how my offseasons typically work. It's syncing up everything between the body and the arm to be able to get back on the mound."

So wait ... what is it about the medicine ball?

"Oh my god, yeah," Scherzer said. "That's how you explosively rotate. When you take that away from me for three months, you realize how much you actually benefit from it."

Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters Saturday morning that Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle are both making great progress and remain on track to return in July (Mahle) and August (deGrom).

"They are passing all the tests on their respective throwing programs and remain on schedule in terms of the timelines we've given at this point, knowing that those could change at any point," Young said.

Texas Rangers Ace Max Scherzer 'Feels Great,' Patiently Waiting To Throw

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