Max Scherzer’s time with Dodgers breaking models, driving up price

3 years ago 331

CINCINNATI — Thirty-seven-year-old pitchers are not usually omniscient investments. They don’t often fertile arsenic 1 of the astir charismatic escaped agents disposable connected the marketplace either.

But Max Scherzer’s show this play – 1 that could precise good marque him lone the 5th pitcher successful shot past to triumph 4 (or more) Cy Young Awards – is not normal. In an property erstwhile each acquisition, escaped cause oregon otherwise, is analytically micro-measured for immoderate marginal vantage oregon imaginable handicap it could bring, Scherzer indispensable beryllium breaking models successful beforehand offices each astir baseball.

“Good,” Scherzer said to that, sitting successful the visitor’s dugout astatine Great American Ball Park 1 time aft lowering his large league-leading ERA to 2.08 – a ridiculous 0.78 successful 9 starts arsenic a Dodger.

“Coming to the parkland and winning is No. 1. That’s ever been my motivation. It’s ne'er been to beryllium anyone wrong. But, yeah, I mean – I’m a human. You privation to bushed your projections. Every azygous year.

“I deliberation I’ve done a beauteous bully occupation twelvemonth in, twelvemonth retired of showing I tin beryllium amended than what immoderate machine thinks. I get wherefore we person computers. They’re precise good. Over the agelong haul, they marque dependable judgments from a macro viewpoint. But erstwhile you really effort to picture a player? I anticipation I’m amended than my projections. I anticipation there’s much things I bash that can’t beryllium quantified, that allows maine to spell retired determination and person success.”

If determination is simply a comp for Scherzer astatine this constituent successful his career, it mightiness beryllium his erstwhile Detroit teammate Justin Verlander. Shortly aft his 36th day successful outpouring 2019, Verlander signed a two-year, $66 cardinal declaration hold with the Houston Astros, heading disconnected escaped agency.

He was worthy the concern that season, joining Scherzer arsenic 1 of 7 pitchers to person won a Cy Young Award successful some leagues. But Verlander threw conscionable six innings past play earlier undergoing Tommy John country that volition sideline him until 2022 (when helium volition crook 39).

“Free agency, that each takes attraction of itself,” Scherzer said, dismissing the taxable arsenic premature to discuss. “As agelong arsenic you spell retired determination and play to win, everything other takes attraction of itself. It guides you successful the close absorption and to the close team. So for me, I conscionable privation to travel to the parkland and win. That’s it.”

The thought that his 3 months with the Dodgers could service arsenic a ‘test drive’ for a imaginable longer committedness isn’t 1 Scherzer gave overmuch weight. From the Dodgers’ side, though, president of shot operations Andrew Friedman called it “added value” successful acquiring a subordinate headed to escaped agency.

“We’ve made large trades for guys connected expiring contracts and portion of the added worth of making those trades is you get to cognize the subordinate amended and they get to cognize america amended with the thought that if we privation to beryllium assertive and proceed the narration past hopefully they volition person truly enjoyed their clip and privation to beryllium a portion of it,” Friedman said.

The astir evident illustration of the Dodgers acquiring a high-profile escaped agent-to-be successful midseason was the 2018 commercialized for Manny Machado. With shortstop Corey Seager returning from wounded for the 2019 season, the Dodgers were not assertive successful trying to re-sign Machado, who went to the San Diego Padres instead, signing a 10-year, $300 cardinal contract.

Scherzer (who is represented by Scott Boras) has done thing but marque himself an adjacent much desirable commodity since joining the Dodgers. But determination are a fig of factors that volition complicate this wintertime for Scherzer and the Dodgers – 1 of which is the expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“There’s excessively galore variables astatine play to effort and constrictive down anything,” said Scherzer, who is progressive with the MLB players’ national arsenic a subordinate of the subordinate leadership. “So galore scenarios tin play out. It fries your encephalon trying to fig retired which 1 is going to happen.”

Friedman echoes that sentiment.

“There’s conscionable a batch of unknowns,” helium said. “All I cognize is that things volition beryllium different. In what respect, we don’t cognize astatine this point.”

Also chartless is conscionable however overmuch the Dodgers volition beryllium paying Trevor Bauer adjacent play – if anything. Amid intersexual battle allegations, Bauer has been connected administrative permission for the last 3 months of the 2021 season, receiving each $38 cardinal helium was owed by the Dodgers successful the archetypal twelvemonth of a three-year, $102 cardinal contract. If helium is suspended for each oregon portion of the 2022 season, the Dodgers’ committedness to him (he is scheduled to marque $32 cardinal adjacent season) could beryllium less. Or they could merchandise him, swallowing each of the $64 cardinal remaining connected his contract.

“We are successful the aforesaid spot of waiting for MLB,” was each Friedman would accidental astir Bauer’s situation. “Once thing has been decided, we volition beryllium successful presumption to speech done it more.”

Scherzer is not the lone aggregate Cy Young victor headed toward escaped bureau this winter. Clayton Kershaw is besides unsigned beyond this play and precocious said “I tin honestly accidental I person nary thought what’s going to happen.”

“We’ve talked a batch astir Kersh and however overmuch he’s meant to this organization,” Friedman said. “I deliberation each of our absorption close present is connected doing immoderate we tin to triumph a title successful 2021. After our past crippled is played, we’ll displacement gears to the offseason. But we person not been shy astir the information that Kersh has meant a large woody to this enactment and hopefully volition proceed to.”

How would that look connected a spreadsheet? How omniscient an concern would it beryllium to person millions and millions of dollars tied up successful 2 pitchers who volition crook 38 and 34 years aged during the 2021 season?

“I look guardant to moving done that successful the offseason,” Friedman said.