After a great amount of speculation on where veteran All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer will end up, the saga has finally come to an end with the 37-year-old signing a three-year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets.
Max Scherzer’s deal with the Mets is done, per source. Three years, $130 million, an opt out after the second season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 29, 2021
On top of a record $43.3 million average annual value in this deal with the New York Mets, Scherzer will also be back paid $15 million per year until 2028 by the Washington Nationals, the team that traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last season’s trade deadline.
Spending his 2021 season split between the Nationals and Dodgers, Scherzer posted a career-low ERA of 2.46, going 7-0 with Los Angeles and eventually finishing third in the National League Cy Young race.
Most expected Scherzer to end up in Los Angeles, whether it be with the Dodgers or Angels, with both teams showing interest, yet he went against the grain and signed with the Mets.
Even with the whole debacle between Steven Matz’s agent and Mets owner Steve Cohen, the businessman has continued to keep his promise of shelling out the money for some big names this past week as the Mets have signed Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha before the Scherzer news.
After losing Noah Syndergaard to the Los Angeles Angels and with Marcus Stroman’s placement still up in the air, the New York Mets really needed some starting pitching
Considering that the franchise has had arguably the best pitcher in baseball on their team with Jacob deGrom, the Mets starting rotation is straight-up dangerous this upcoming season.
The Mets ace was on his way to a record-breaking season with a 1.08 ERA and 0.55 WHIP (which included a career-high 15-strikeout complete game shutout) in 2021 before an injury brought it to a halt.
Scherzer has aged like fine wine, dishing out some of the best numbers in his career last season. This addition adds depth that very few fans would have thought the Mets could have any time soon.
Now with Scherzer and deGrom pitching side by side with the bats to back them up, anything seems possible for the New York Mets in 2022.