Max Scherzer will get the start for the Texas Rangers in Game Three of the World Series tonight (Monday) against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The pitcher is now set to pitch for a third different team in the MLB Finals, with Scherzer’s previous World Series starts coming with the Detroit Tigers in 2012 and the Washington Nationals in 2019.
If this is possible, it is because of the trade that sent him to Texas from the New York Mets for prospect Luisangel Acuna midseason.
We could therefore believe that the artilleryman is enjoying perfect happiness. However, this is not exactly the case.
This is because the main interested party wanted to achieve the feat with the team with which he had signed his lucrative contract.
It was just a decision that had to be made. I don’t want to say I’m happy because that makes it sound like I was trying to leave New York. I was just at a point in my career where I had to make a decision to win. If victory is your ultimate goal, you must make decisions accordingly.
Scherzer, who had a player option on his contract for next season, agreed to exercise it during his trade with the Rangers because he had not received assurance from Mets management that the team was ready to be won in 2024.
I was put in a box to choose, I had to make a decision. If they are competitive, great, I have no animosity towards the organization or anyone there. It’s just that I was put in a corner where if I didn’t accept this trade, they were going to trade other guys across the roster. At that point, I had to make a baseball decision.
The right-hander must now focus on the most important start of his season, having not performed quite well in the playoffs in recent campaigns, including 2023.
