The New York Mets are finalizing a blockbuster three-year, $130-million deal with ace Max Scherzer, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Scherzer, who is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time all-star, helped the Los Angeles Dodgers reach the National League Championship Series last season after arriving in a deadline deal from the Washington Nationals.
Although the 37-year-old from Chesterfield, Missouri, played a key role in the Dodgers’ wins over the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card game and the San Francisco Giants during the NL Division Series, Scherzer said his “arm was dead” after pitching just 4.1 innings and giving up two runs on four hits during Game 2 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves and he was scratched from his scheduled Game 6 start. Walker Buehler took the mound instead for the Dodgers, who lost Game 6 and the series to the eventual World Series champions 4-2.
Scherzer went 15-4 during the 2021 season with a 2.46 ERA and 0.864 WHIP while also delivering 236 strikeouts including career milestone No. 3,000 on Sept. 12. He finished third in National League Cy Young voting.
Drafted 11th overall in 2006 by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Scherzer made his MLB debut two years later and spent a couple of seasons with the club before landing with the Detroit Tigers in a blockbuster trade in 2008. Scherzer soared with the Tigers and earned his first Cy Young Award in 2013.
He signed a whopping seven-year, $210 million contract to join the Washington Nationals in 2015 and paid dividends on his deal winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2016 and 2017 plus the World Series in 2019.
Scherzer is tied for three MLB records — sharing the most strikeouts (20) in a nine-inning game, most consecutive seasons (five) with 250-plus strikeouts and most immaculate innings pitched (three).
