Max Scherzer to Nationals: Latest Contract Details, Comments, Reaction: The most prized MLB free agent this offseason is officially off the market, as starting pitcher Max Scherzer has reportedly signed with the Washington Nationals. According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the accomplished ace inked a seven-year deal with the Nationals: Top-of-the-rotation starters arent easy to come by, which is why Scherzer was so coveted. The 30-year-old righty is coming off the two best seasons of his career, and he cashed in by signing a lucrative free-agent contract. It was always quite apparent that Scherzer would test the market, but that was made official when he declined a qualifying offer in excess of $15 million from the Detroit Tigers, per Major League Baseballs official Twitter account: As expected, Scherzer was able to parlay his recent success into a deal that is the envy of the league. If anyone deserves that type of money, though, Scherzer is the guy. After going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2013, he followed that up with a 2014 campaign that was nearly as good. Scherzer posted a sparkling 18-5 record along with a 3.15 ERA and a career-high 252 strikeouts last season. Few pitchers in baseball induce as many swing-and-misses as Scherzer, which is invaluable as the games become more important late in the year. With Scherzers stock soaring through the roof after the 2014 season, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski knew that re-signing him would be a major challenge, according to Ashley Dunkak of CBS Detroit: We had thorough conversations before the season, and I dont know that thats all dictated by us at this point. I think we made ourself pretty well-known at that time, where we stood, and hes a quality pitcher, and we know that. Hes done a lot for our organization but its apparent that his representative wanted him to test free agency… …I think we probably made more of an effort to sign Max earlier in the year at that time, so I dont think your odds improve than what they were earlier. There was plenty working in Scherzers favor when he hit the open market, including the relative weakness of the free-agent class as a whole. Above all else, though, Scherzer has little wear and tear on his arm when compared to other elite pitchers. As pointed out by MLB Networks Peter Gammons, Scherzer has actually thrown fewer innings than Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, despite being four years older than the lefty: While there is always risk involved with handing out a huge contract to a pitcher, the numbers seem to be on Scherzers side more so than other top hurlers. If Scherzer is able to maintain the level at which he has pitched for the past two seasons, then he may very well live up to his lofty contract. There is more pressure on him to thrive now than ever before, but he unquestionably has the skill set needed to continue his run of dominance. Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter Read more MLB news on BleacherReport #MLB #BreakingNews #MaxScherzer
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:44:19 +0000
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