Max Scherzer injury nearly changed St. Louis Cardinals’ trade plans

The St. Louis Cardinals are being heavily linked to Max Scherzer, but when he got hurt Friday night, their trade plans nearly changed.

I have long been of the belief that the St. Louis Cardinals will be in on starting pitcher Max Scherzer should the Washington Nationals make him available at the trade deadline.

But Scherzer left his start Friday night in obvious discomfort after 12 pitches. He threw one warmup pitch, wincing in pain, before leaving with trainers. After the game, Scherzer said that he felt his groin tweak in the first inning, though it is not a muscle strain and he is considered day-to-day, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

It’s the best-case scenario for Scherzer and also provides a deep sigh of relief for the Cardinals. The starting pitcher market, even with Scherzer, was generally considered weak. The other top arm, Jon Gray of the Colorado Rockies, recently departed with elbow stiffness, though MRIs came back clean.

But if Scherzer was down for a significant amount of time, the Cardinals might have needed to jump a pretty bare market and acquired Gray or a starter from the Minnesota Twins, who some feel could — and will — become the first aggressive seller at the trade deadline. It would have put president of baseball operations John Mozeliak in a tough position with their need for not one, but potentially three starting pitchers, and allowed rival teams to capitalize on his desperation in trade talks for middle-of-the-rotation type starters.

Scherzer, however, is not out of the woods, but the early signs are encouraging. If he’s okay, and pitches to the caliber he has throughout his career, he should be the Cardinals’ top target — provided that it does not cost top prospect Nolan Gorman.

For one night, however, Scherzer provided a scare to the Nationals and the rest of baseball. But the dream of pairing Scherzer with Jack Flaherty, who has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball, continues to live on.