Former New York Mets star Max Scherzer has successfully recovered from the shoulder injury that prematurely concluded his regular season and cast doubt on his postseason return.

Scherzer has been named to the Texas Rangers’ ALCS roster, which was released on Sunday morning. He had been sidelined due to a right teres major strain, which had prevented the three-time Cy Young Award winner from participating in the previous two playoff rounds.

The 39-year-old Scherzer may be considered for the starting position in Game 3 against the Houston Astros, with former New York Yankees pitchers Jordan Montgomery slated for Game 1 and Nathan Eovaldi for Game 2. Texas has yet to reveal its starting pitching plans beyond Game 2.

The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the underperforming Mets just days before the MLB trade deadline to reinforce their rotation, which had suffered the loss of another former Mets ace, Jacob deGrom, to season-ending elbow surgery.

During this season, Scherzer posted a 4.01 ERA in 19 starts with the Mets, marking his highest ERA in over a decade. Following the trade to the Rangers, he recorded a 3.20 ERA over eight outings. Scherzer’s toughest outing with Texas occurred against Houston on September 6 when he allowed seven runs in three innings.

The right-handed Scherzer made just one more regular-season start for Texas, securing a victory against Toronto on September 12, before being sidelined due to the shoulder strain. At the time, Rangers general manager Chris Young considered it “unlikely” that Scherzer would make a playoff return.

Fortunately, Scherzer’s rehabilitation went well, and he declared himself “ready to go” after a successful bullpen session on Friday.

Both the Rangers and the Astros finished the season with identical 90-72 records. However, Houston secured the AL West tiebreaker by winning the majority of their head-to-head matchups. Texas subsequently swept the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card round and the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.

In exchange for Scherzer, the Mets received highly regarded prospect Luisangel Acuna, a minor-league infielder. The ALCS also features another former ace, 40-year-old Justin Verlander, who was traded by the Mets to the Astros in August as part of their rebuilding efforts.

Scherzer enters the ALCS with a career playoff record of 7-7 and a 3.58 ERA in 27 games, including 22 starts. He secured a World Series victory with the Washington Nationals in 2019, earning a 1-0 record in two starts against the Houston Astros during that series.

The Mets had signed Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million contract before the 2022 season. In the previous year, he posted an 11-5 record with a 2.29 ERA but lost his lone playoff start.

On Sunday, the Rangers also added starting pitcher Jon Gray to their ALCS roster after he had been sidelined due to a lower forearm strain since September 25. Gray had a 9-8 record with a 4.12 ERA in 29 starts this season.

Scherzer and Gray will replace relievers Matt Bush and Brock Burke on the Rangers’ playoff roster.