Dodgers: Max Scherzer Blames His Dead Arm On Misuse By Los Angeles

Last year, at the trade deadline, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner were added to Los Angeles's roster. Both ended up being crucial to making the playoffs. Turner injected some life into the lineup and won a batting title, while the team went 11-0 in Scherzer's regular-season starts.

In the playoffs, though, their performances took a turn for the worst. Turner couldn't hit the side of a barn while Scherzer had an arm that was deadened during game 6 of the NLCS.

Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic was among those to report Scherzer's introductory press conference with the Mets where, at one point, he partially blamed LA's usage for his dead arm issue.

Scherzer said the Dodgers limiting his pitch count and trying to keep him fresh for the postseason lowered his work capacity and he thinks led to his dead arm. Said in DC he was relied on and pushed to consistently go 110 pitches every five days so more built up for ‘19 WS run
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) December 1, 2021

From 2019 to 2021, Scherzer had various workloads. In 2019, he tossed 172.1 innings. He threw 67.1 innings in 2020 and 179.1 in 2021. That's a 112-inning increase between the last two seasons, not including the postseason, and a significant step up in use for any veteran arm.

Max Scherzer's final six starts as a National (after leaving a game b/c of a groin injury): 98.2 pitches per game

Scherzer's final nine starts as a Dodger (after a rain-shortened start): 96.3 pitches per game

(shrug emoji)
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) December 1, 2021

Notably, he did not blame his usage out of the bullpen in game 5 of the NLDS as a reason.

Whatever the true problem was, it doesn't seem to have impacted his negotiations as he has now signed a sizable new contract with the New York Mets.