Max Scherzer is on his way out from the New York Mets, barring a massive reversal, less than 24 hours after he said he was reconsidering his future with the team.
The Mets have agreed to a trade with the Texas Rangers that will send the three-time Cy Young winner to the AL West, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The deal required Scherzer’s approval due to his no-trade clause, which he will waive, according to SNY’s Andy Martino, but there are still reportedly some financial hurdles to clear before the deal goes through, as well as the usual medical approvals.
Scherzer is currently in the second season of a three-year, $130 million contract he signed with the Mets after the 2021 season. That deal held a full no-trade clause, giving Scherzer final say on where he was headed if the Mets wanted to deal him. He also has an opt-out after this season, making this trade a potential two-month rental.
The Mets, currently 49-54 and 6.5 games back from a wild-card spot, had already signaled they would be selling at the trade deadline when they sent closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins on Thursday in exchange for a pair of prospects, infielder Marco Vargas and catcher Ronald Hernandez. That was the deal that incensed Scherzer enough to tell reporters he wanted a conversation with the Mets’ front office after Friday’s game.
From MLB.com:
“I’ve got to have a conversation with the front office … about everything,” Scherzer said. “That’s the most I’m going to say. You have to talk to the brass. You have to understand what they see, what they’re going to do. That’s the best I can tell you.
“I told you I wasn’t going to comment on this until [owner] Steve [Cohen decided] to sell. We traded Robertson. Now we need to have a conversation. I haven’t had that conversation yet, and I will.”
We now have a pretty good idea of how that conversation went.
With Robertson traded and Scherzer on the way out, the Mets have little reason to hold onto their other movable assets, most notably starting pitcher Justin Verlander. They will be a team to watch in the few days remaining before the trade deadline on Tuesday.
Rangers making an aggressive move with Max Scherzer, but is it a wise one?
Rangers general manager Chris Young is not shy about his affection for proven, elite pitching. This deal would again slot Scherzer into an ambitious rotation that had planned to rely on Jacob deGrom.
The big question on the Rangers’ side is whether Scherzer, the future Hall of Famer who turned 39 Thursday, is still the impact addition he was as recently as 2021. By top-level measures, he’s in the midst of his worst season since 2011, sporting a 103 ERA+ (which means he has been only 3% better than league average based on the park-adjusted metrics).
His strikeout rate has also ticked down, but the most worrisome sign is a ballooning vulnerability to home runs. Homers used to be one of the only ways to score on Scherzer, but this season he has allowed a whopping 1.92 per nine innings, third-worst among qualified starters. Notably, the starter with the worst HR/9 — the veteran Lance Lynn — was also just traded.
In particular, Scherzer’s struggles and inconsistencies in the middle innings have raised eyebrows in the first year with the pitch timer. On a Mets team that has struggled to fill innings, Scherzer has nonetheless gone a better-than-average 5.7 innings per start. A deeper team might envision boosting his numbers simply by cutting his workload.
This marks Scherzer’s second high-stakes midseason move in three years. When the Washington Nationals tore down their World Series-winning core in 2019, Scherzer accepted a deal to the Dodgers, then proceeded to go 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA over the rest of the season before struggling with fatigue at a decisive juncture in the postseason.
The Rangers would likely need to find a way to maximize him with restraint that has never before been required for the famously competitive hurler. But they are a team whose trade deadline could make a huge difference. They are just two games up on the Houston Astros for the AL West lead, which would guarantee the winner a bye into the ALDS. With deGrom out for the season with an injury and new ace Nathan Eovaldi carrying a heavy workload, more reliable pitching might be needed to hold off the Astros.
Rumors had swirled around Scherzer and Verlander over the past week as the Mets’ chances at contention dwindled and GM Billy Eppler began selling, most notably sending closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.
Scherzer appeared to bristle at the direction Friday in postgame comments, even as the Mets sat well out of a postseason spot.
As other potential sellers, such as the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, have held off on moves, the Mets have decisively jumped into sell mode to capitalize on a thin market for pitching help. Outfielders Mark Canha and Tommy Pham are also candidates to join new teams.
