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6 biggest questions for Nationals entering the offseason

By Jake Mastroianni

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Strasburg #37, Kurt Suzuki #28, Ryan Zimmerman #11, Anthony Rendon #6 and Howie Kendrick #47 of the Washington Nationals meet on the mound during the seventh inning of game three of the National League Championship Series at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Strasburg #37, Kurt Suzuki #28, Ryan Zimmerman #11, Anthony Rendon #6 and Howie Kendrick #47 of the Washington Nationals meet on the mound during the seventh inning of game three of the National League Championship Series at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: Max  Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals watches the game in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Nationals Park on September 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: Max  Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals watches the game in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Nationals Park on September 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

How serious are these injuries for Max Scherzer

Nobody is questioning the ability of Max Scherzer at this point in his 12-year career.

He’s still one of the best pitchings in all of baseball and posted a 2.92 ERA in 171.1 innings with 243 strikeouts in 2019.

And then he was brilliant throughout the postseason as well leading the Nationals a World Series title with a gutty performance in Game 7.

Related Story. 3 takeaways from Game 7 win. light

But Scherzer isn’t getting any younger, and you have to wonder how big of a factor these back and neck spams will be in the future.

That’s not typically an injury that just goes away, and at the same time, you aren’t ever really sure when it’s going to rear its ugly head.

On top of that, we found out Scherzer played the 2019 season with a broken finger.

Point is, Scherzer isn’t getting any younger and there’s a lot of miles on his arm.

The 2019 season was the first time since his rookie season in 2008 that he didn’t make at least 30 starts in a season. And it’s the first time since 2012 that he didn’t throw over 200 innings.

Now, if you add his postseason totals, he surpasses both of those numbers.

Scherzer has two more years left on his contract, making over $40 million in both of those seasons — with some of that money deferred to 2028.

I still expect Max to pitch at an ace level for the next two years, but I do worry how limited he’ll be by injuries.

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