Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer was scratched from his scheduled spring training start on Tuesday due to fatigue in his right side.
“Just that whole general area,” Scherzer told reporters, pointing to his right rib cage.
The three-time Cy Young award winner said his discomfort was the result of a recent mechanical tweak and not a cause for concern.
“Once I adjusted my mechanics to alleviate the rhomboid stress, I shifted out to the side where I always had it. Just that part was just lagging behind in terms of where my arm strength was and how I was long-tossing in January,” Scherzer said.
“It’s just been playing catch-up. There’s not even a strain. There’s no MRIs. There’s nothing like that. This is purely just a fatigue, endurance thing.”
Manager Dave Martinez said Scherzer will return to the mound on Sunday.
Scherzer, 35, was 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 27 starts in 2019. He went 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 30.0 postseason innings for the World Series champions.
