Mets' Max Scherzer To Start On Friday; Brandon Nimmo Injury Update

Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (hamstring) checked all of the boxes in his fielding test and will take the mound on Friday night against the Nationals. Plus an update on Brandon Nimmo, who is dealing with neck stiffness.

WASHINGTON -- Although Max Scherzer will not pitch on Opening Day, it sounds like the Mets dodged a bullet with the availability of their interim No. 1 starter. 

Scherzer, who has been dealing with a hamstring "hiccup" over the course of the past week, passed his fielding test at Nationals Park on Thursday and will be able to take the hill tomorrow night for the second game of the regular-season against his former team.

“I can’t tell you how many pitches I’m going to throw, [will] just manage what you got,” Scherzer said. 

Max Scherzer says he's on track to start tomorrow pic.twitter.com/7IT2klZMmz

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 7, 2022

The Mets had their entire rotation scheduled on an extra day of rest during spring training. Had Scherzer been unable to pitch on Friday, this would've forced the team to bump everyone up a day. 

New York will already be without ace Jacob deGrom for a significant period of time due to a stress reaction on his right scapula. As a result of deGrom's injury, along with Scherzer's hamstring hiccup, second-year hurler Tylor Megill will receive an unlikely nod as the Mets' Opening Day starter this season.

With Megill destined to take deGrom's spot in the rotation, the Mets can breathe a bit easier now that Scherzer received the green light to make his first start of the season on Friday. 

Nimmo Update

Brandon Nimmo, who has been dealing with neck stiffness since after the Mets' exhibition contest with the Marlins on Sunday, is out of the lineup on Opening Day.

According to Nimmo, he has been feeling better the past few days after receiving a cortisone shot on Tuesday. He also did additional on-field tests to try to argue his way into the lineup tonight, but it doesn't sound like the Mets are going to let him take the chance of worsening his ailment. 

"He's worth waiting on," Showalter said of Nimmo during his pregame press conference on Thursday. "It's not if, It's when. I don't care how you try to simulate things, until you actually get in a game you just don't know. You're just making an educated guess. 

"He's close. If we were in a little bit of a different situation we probably could and would push the envelope. (But) It's not smart, (It's) game one."

Nimmo has been able to avoid the injured list so far, but time will tell regarding when he can actually get back into the lineup.