Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer said he will make his season debut Sunday against the visiting Kansas City Royals.

The Rangers, however, have yet to announce their starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale versus the Royals in Arlington, Texas.

Scherzer has been working his way back after he underwent surgery on Dec. 15 to repair a herniated disc in his back. He is also dealing with a nerve issue in his thumb.

He is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 11 innings (three starts) with Triple-A Round Rock.

Scherzer, who turns 40 July 27, was 4-2 last season with a 3.20 ERA in eight regular-season starts for Texas after being acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline.

He did not pitch in the wild-card or division series because of a shoulder strain and was 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in two starts in the American League Championship Series. He started Game 3 of the World Series and pitched three scoreless innings in a 3-1 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner and an eight-time All-Star, Scherzer is 214-108 with a 3.15 ERA and 3,367 strikeouts in 457 games (448 starts) for the Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets and Rangers.

The Miami Marlins placed left-hander Jesus Luzardo on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to a lumbar stress reaction.

The move was retroactive to Wednesday.

Luzardo, 26, was scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, but the Marlins announced Friday that he’d be scratched due to a back issue. They recalled right-hander Shaun Anderson from Triple-A Jacksonville to take Luzardo’s place in the rotation.

Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters Friday that the issue has been hampering Luzardo for the past few weeks but that he tried to pitch through it.

“You don’t want to overdo another side of the body or another part of the body because you’re trying not to hurt whatever is being hurt or is hurting,” Schumaker said. “You definitely don’t want to push through something, especially the back, because it could lead to other things. So we’ll see what the results say and what the doctors say, but it’s definitely not something that you push through.”

Luzardo was on the IL earlier this season with a left-elbow ailment. On the season, he’s 3-6 with an ERA of 5.00 in 12 appearances (all starts). In his career, he’s made 105 appearances (89 starts) and has a 26-34 record with a 4.29 ERA with the Oakland Athletics (2019-21) and Marlins.

Anderson, 29, started the season with the Texas Rangers but was traded to the Marlins for cash on May 30. He has made one start for the Marlins, taking the 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on June 14 after giving up seven runs (four earned) on nine hits in two innings.

The Philadelphia Phillies and left-hander Cristopher Sanchez have agreed to a four-year contract extension that begins in 2025 and runs through 2028, the team announced Saturday.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal that includes club options for 2029 and 2030. Sanchez is playing this season on a one-year, $753,500 contract.

The deal allows the two sides to avoid Sanchez’s arbitration years while affording the Phillies contractual control of the left-hander through the option years.

Sanchez, 27, is 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 14 starts this season. He has surrendered just one home run and struck out 66 batters in 77⅓ innings.

He is 10-10 with a 3.73 ERA in 55 career games (36 starts) with the Phillies.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.