After signing a lucrative three-year contract in December 2021, Max Scherzer did not believe he would be compromised during this campaign. We can understand that, but we must never forget that it is the Mets.
And the main interested party returned to the events which led him to find himself under other skies.
I didn’t think I was going to be traded. But a few days before the deadline, all of a sudden, some guys from the league contacted me saying, “Would you like to come to this team? Would you like to waive your no-trade clause for us? “I thought the Mets were going to sell the free agents.
But no, the Mets ultimately didn’t just trade players who became free as air at the end of the season.
Eventually, Scherzer was traded to the Texas Rangers for Ronald Acuna Jr.’s brother, prospect Luisangel Acuna.
For the 39-year-old, Texas was the only destination that made sense in the long term for him and his family, despite several teams expressing interest in seeing him land at home.
Although the veteran would have liked to stay with the Mets to try to win a championship, he is grateful to owner Steve Cohen.
I was grateful. They were very honest. It became clear in which direction the team was going. You sign there to win and I really thought we would have a chance to win there. Obviously, we didn’t and that’s a shame.
Scherzer must now look ahead, as he will have a real chance to win in 2023, something the Mets couldn’t have offered him until 2026, and it may be the last of his prolific career.
