WASHINGTON — Max Scherzer’s right hamstring spoke Thursday and granted him permission for a homecoming.
After throwing a bullpen and partaking in simulated fielding drills at Nationals Park, where the tarp sat on the field in the afternoon, the Mets right-hander indicated he is ready to debut Friday night for his new club.
“I was able to pass all the tests,” Scherzer said before the Mets’ season opener.
The hamstring became an issue a week earlier, when Scherzer felt tightness while running. Two days later he was scratched from his final spring training start. The 37-year-old Scherzer said he had dealt with enough hamstring issues in his career to know the latest incident was just a “hiccup” that wouldn’t affect him for long. Among other considerations for manager Buck Showalter was waiting until the home opener on April 15 to pitch Scherzer.
The Nationals planned to hold a pregame tribute Thursday for their former ace, who will be pitching at Nationals Park for the first time since the trade last July that sent him the Dodgers. After the season, Scherzer signed a three-year contract worth $130 million with the Mets.
For his career, Scherzer is 37-26 with a 2.99 ERA in 96 starts at Nationals Park.
“It’s going to be a crazy, wild atmosphere,” Scherzer said. “To be able to be a part of this, this was going to happen at some point. It was weird when I had that Dodgers uniform on too, so you get used to it, you get used to playing for another team and you go out there and just compete and have fun.
“A lot of good memories here and there always will be good memories here, but nothing lasts forever and as my baseball journey goes on I am here in New York and excited about what the future holds.”
Those memories include a 2019 World Series title, two no-hitters and a 20-strikeout performance. Scherzer arrived to the Nationals before the 2015 season on a seven-year contract worth $210 million.
Scherzer, who resides in the West Palm Beach, Fla., area — near the Nationals’ spring training site — said he’s interacted with former teammates in recent weeks.
If Scherzer will be extra pumped to face the Nationals, it may be hard to distinguish.
“I don’t think there is some situation that puts Max in a different adrenaline [place],” Showalter said.
The Mets especially need Scherzer taking the ball every fifth day as Jacob deGrom sits on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right scapula that will keep him sidelined for an extended stretch.
But deGrom’s absence doesn’t change Scherzer’s assessment of the team around him.
“A lot of talent in here,” Scherzer said. “A lot of moves were made in the offseason to bolster the talent in here. It’s up to us to come together as a team, as a clubhouse, and play well as a team and do the best we can to go out there and we need a good start right from the beginning.
“This is going to be a tough division. A lot of good teams, a lot of good talent around here. Everybody has just got to be at their best and you have got to play winning baseball.”