6:19 pm: The Angels are also still in the mix for Scherzer, according to Heyman.
4:40 pm: Other teams are indeed still trying to top the Padres’ offer for Scherzer, says Rosenthal. While Washington and San Diego have “essentially” agreed on the framework of a trade, the various obstacles involved with Scherzer’s situation (particularly his no-trade rights) continue to loom over the discussions.
3:58 pm: While the Padres are heavily involved in the market for Scherzer, Heyman reiterates that other clubs (perhaps including the Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox) still believe they have a chance to land the ace.
3:24 pm: The teams have agreed on the players involved, pending medical reviews, according to Jim Bowden of the Athletic. Scherzer still needs to waive his no-trade rights, although recent reports suggested he’d be willing to do so to move to one of the NL West contenders.
3:12 pm: The Padres are nearing a deal to acquire Max Scherzer, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). Jon Morosi of MLB.com had reported the Friars’ efforts to land Scherzer were “intensifying” moments before Rosenthal. The deal is not yet complete, cautions Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Assuming the deal eventually crosses the finish line, it’ll be the latest in a line of impact starting pitching acquisitions for San Diego that dates back to last summer. Within the past twelve months, the Padres have acquired Mike Clevinger, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. They’re now on the verge of landing perhaps their most notable pitcher of all, a three-time Cy Young award winner who started for the National League in this year’s All-Star game.
Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of his generation, and the future Hall of Famer has continued to pitch at a level close to peak form. He’s tossed 111 innings across nineteen starts, working to a 2.76 ERA/3.59 FIP. He’s given up a few home runs (1.46 HR/9), but Scherzer’s strikeout and walk numbers are still among the game’s best. The eight-time All-Star has punched out 34.3% of batters faced while handing out free passes to a meager 6.5% of opponents. Among starters with 50+ innings pitched, only Jacob deGrom, Tyler Glasnow, Patrick Sandoval and Shane Bieber have generated swinging strikes at a higher clip than Scherzer’s 16.5% mark.
It’s the continuation of what has been a remarkable tenure in Washington. Signed to a seven-year, $210MM deal over the 2014-15 offseason, the right-hander entered today’s outing with a 2.80 ERA/2.91 FIP across 1223 innings for the Nats. It proved to be one of the most successful free agent investments in recent memory. Scherzer won back-to-back NL Cy Young awards in 2016-17. He was selected to the All-Star game six times, with the lone exception due to the cancelation of last year’s festivities. And Scherzer was integral to the Nationals’ 2019 World Series title, tossing 30 frames of 2.40 ERA ball during that year’s postseason run.
With Scherzer scheduled to reach free agency again this offseason, the Washington front office was faced with a decision — hold onto Scherzer in hopes of making a playoff push, or move him to a contender for an influx of young talent? For a while, it seemed as though the Nats would play well enough that keeping Scherzer was the obvious choice. They’ve struggled coming out of the All-Star Break, though, with a sweep at the hands of the Orioles last weekend seemingly sealing the team’s fate as sellers.
Washington sits at 47-54, fourth place in the National League East and seven games back of the division-leading Mets. They entered play today with just a 1.1% chance of reaching the postseason, in the estimation of FanGraphs. Nationals brass hasn’t traditionally been keen on trading away star players. Still, the deficit became too much to reasonably expect to overcome, particularly with Stephen Strasburg officially done for the season and star shortstop Trea Turner now out for the next-week plus after testing positive for COVID-19.
Successful and beloved as Scherzer has been in Washington, it became apparent in recent days that a trade would be in the cards. Such a move isn’t without complications though, most notably Scherzer’s full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player (one with ten years of major league service, the past five of which have come with the same team).
Scott Boras, Scherzer’s agent, suggested earlier in the summer that the pitcher could require some form of contractual inducement (perhaps even an extension) to approve any deal. He later walked back those comments, though, and recent reports suggested Scherzer was willing to approve a move to certain destinations — particularly those on the West Coast. Obviously, the Padres would fit that bill, but the Nationals were still motivated to work out a deal well in advance of tomorrow’s 4:00 pm EST deadline in order to sort that situation out.
There’s also the matter of finances to consider. Scherzer’s playing out the year on a significant $35MM salary, a little less than $12MM of which remains to be paid. That money is entirely deferred until 2028, part of a broader trend throughout the term of his deal. While Scherzer is an impending free agent, he’ll still be owed $15MM every year from 2022-28 in deferrals. It’s not precisely clear how the Nationals and Padres will divide those payments (assuming the trade is completed), although the majority of those obligations will certainly be paid by the Nationals.
The Padres’ series of big-ticket trade and free agent acquisitions in recent years has pushed their payroll to unprecedented heights for the organization. The Friars are reportedly a little above the $210MM luxury tax threshold. Scherzer’s prorated luxury tax hit for the remainder of the season is right around $10MM. If the Friars pick up the remainder of his contractual obligations, they’ll certainly wind up above the luxury threshold, although previous reports suggested ownership was willing to greenlight such a move to accommodate an impactful summer acquisition.
San Diego would be a first-time payor of the competitive balance tax. That’d subject the franchise to a 20% tax on any overage between $210MM and $230MM (an approximate $2MM penalty if they assume Scherzer’s remaining deal). Should the Friars push their luxury number above $230MM, they’d pay a 32% tax on expenditures between that number and $250MM.
Either way, the overage penalties are an exceedingly small price to pay for a pitcher of Scherzer’s caliber. The Padres entered play today in third place in the NL West, 5.5 games back of the Giants. They’re 3.5 behind the Dodgers for the top Wild Card spot but five games clear of the Reds for the NL’s final postseason spot. The Friars seem likely to make the playoffs in some capacity. If acquired, Scherzer would be an option to start a potential Wild Card game.
If San Diego gets into an NLDS, a playoff rotation involving Scherzer, Darvish, and Musgrove would be capable of shutting down the best opposing lineups. That’s without even accounting for Snell, Dinelson Lamet, Ryan Weathers or Chris Paddack, who could be options to start a fourth game and/or work multiple innings of relief.
The Padres’ acquisition of Scherzer (if completed) would also have huge implications on the trade market for other top starting pitchers — most notably Minnesota’s José Berríos. San Diego was reportedly heavily involved in the Berríos market in recent days. A Scherzer pickup would seemingly take them out of that mix, but the other two NL West contenders are among the teams known to be interested in the Twins’ righty.
The Dodgers and Giants probably won’t feel obligated to up their offers on Berríos specifically because the Padres are on the verge of a Scherzer deal. Front offices don’t tend to be that reactionary to division rivals’ moves in this day and age. But both those teams were also speculated as potential fits for Scherzer, and his landing elsewhere could leave Berríos as the only true top-of-the-rotation arm still available in the next 24 hours.
I think it would have been more exciting if he was a part of the Giants or Dodgers, but the Padres are okay too.
Why would that excite you more? I’m no Pads fan but I def love their efforts to go all in. I remember when the Yankees used to do that before they decided to become the Grocery Outlet of MLB.
Agree. Exciting. Slam Diego. Cron Zone. Love their play guy. Max Darvish Musgrove is nice. Notice I left out Snell. Bad over pay trade but if he’s your 4 that’s not bad.
I’m an old Dodgers fan, but what the Padres ownership has done lately is amazing, and to be saluted. This just makes the rivalry better between the 3 top teams in the NL West. Who wouldn’t want Scherzer
Arizona prefered Edwin Jackson.
You have to like their efforts to win now. They not only can line up an Ace of their choosing in a one-game wildcard game against the Giants or Dodgers, but also will be stacked to go deep in the postseason. Heck, they could very well win the division and not have to worry about the wildcard game. Kudos to the Pads organization.
The Padres are not winning the division. I give them props for the effort but they lost the division early on playing the Giants. And SF has 4 big acquisitions coming in August, Longoria, Crawford, Belt and La Stella.
“The Grocery outlet of MLB”? What’s that’s supposed to mean? And before you answer, the Yanks have had a lot of struggles this year so naturally Yankee haters would feel emboldened to take shots at them. So, you too?
It means the Yankees suck
dude don’t dis on grocery outlet.
lol true dat’
That grocery outlet has some bad supplements.
I’ve been seeing the Padres penny pinch my whole life. It’s so weird seeing Dodger fans say the Padres are trying to buy a playoff spot. Never in my wildest dreams would I thought the Padres would pass the luxury tax.
Good get him out the east
And keep him in the NL, far away from Boston.
Padres have never won a championship and frequently are not good in general. I personally find their efforts way more exciting than the Giants or Dodgers, who have been in the mix almost every year for what seems like decades. Padres are serious about winning, and you gotta love that for their fans and for baseball.
They are serious about winning but what have they won?
@DODGER JR: They’re serious about winning in that they’re going out and acquiring the necessary pieces to fight for a World Series. Not sure why this needs to be explained.
It’s a two month rental, season will be over end of September
@Dodger JR is your typical LA fan…what have you done for me lately, type of guy:)
No, the typical Dodger fan is an 18 year old Instagram model who just went to the game for an excuse to wear a cute baseball hat and take pictures. Or the Cholo gangbanger. There is no middle ground.
Well they beated Cards last season. Don”t you see?
i’m a nerdy dodger fan, never been a model or a gangbanger.
How many times over the past few years have the Pads swung for the fences only to have it backfire in their faces. They trade for a bunch of big names and then they trade them two years later. Look what they are trying to do with Hosmer and Myers. Snell has been a huge bust. San Diego drains it farm system every few years and then restocks it when they trade off the big names. 0 Championships is all I see so far.
What have the Padres done in their history? I will wait. The Dodgers have one of the deepest Farm Systems in baseball a big part of the Dodger roster is home grown but they are smart enough to go get players when they need them and not panic like San Diego always does. Once again you can’t compare the Dodgers and Padres past because San Diego has no past as far as success.
Awww cry snowflake. Dodger fans love talking smack but can’t take it back.
And I’m a hardcore Padre fan, but I’m being called a bandwagon. See…Hypocrisy
You guys, as a person who lived in Southern California and likes neither team, I can safely attest that both team’s fanbases are annoying.
Same crypto red same
Beated lmfao
I’m the middle ground knucklehead
So what number is Scherzer gonna wear for your Padres? Oh wait never mind
Its great for baseball..
Bring home Snell!
Take him please.
Giants yes maybe; but Padres doing it is just phenomenal in their quest to be equals in the new generation of good baseball. Something the Cardinals ,Braves and Phillies are not anymore.
As a Sox fan I’m bummed not to be getting him, but Padres are looking scary good if they survive the WC game.
Hopefully, pretty soon Max will be able to have a beer with that rookie relief pitcher who dinged him for a grand slam.
Figure as close as the teams are with adding Max who should be good for something like 6-3 or 7-3 or something record which should be enough to catch the Giants.
The giants are over achieving this year
What colors are each of his eyes???
GREEN AND BROWN! GO PADS!!!
Come on Giants acquire Scherzer there is still time before he goes to the Padres. However, at this point I think he will be with the Padres or another team. I don’t think the Angels will make the playoff nor the Yankees.
I hope they don’t give up much for him.
Two month rental in a buyer’s market. They won’t.
If the Dodgers and Giants haven’t already traded for him then the Nationals must be asking a high price for a 2 month rental
What if the Giants don’t have the farm system and the Dodgers didn’t want to give the pieces up.
San Diego is in full win no mood unlike a lot of teams they are going for it when they have their superstars etc.
Not sure why everyone thinks Giants have a bad farm. It’s a consensus top 10 farm and almost certainly better than the Dodgers at this point (Dodgers players have made it to bigs).
lol it’s a sellers market! The return for rentals is way over the top!
@Adolpho67 look at what Gallo, Rizzo and Duffy got. It’s a buyer’s market.
I don’t know about that, looks like a bidding war
They will. If the Padres want you they will get you. Just about every big player other than Gallo went to Padres. Clevinger Darvish Snell Musgrove Frazier. Some were fair price Musgrove Frazier Clevinger. Darvish they paid. Snell they really paid.
Musgrove they really overpaid for
How so? I see the upside in Head. But other than that a backend starter prospect, a reliever they couldn’t develop, a backend starter they felt wasn’t good enough for their rotation and a 6th round draft pick. Musgrove was at least a 3 with 2 years of control. Seems at worst a fair trade.
If you get the player, you “overpaid.” By definition.
@B;lueSkies_LA Yep
Clevinger they really overpaid for
They gave up CJ Abrams and Mckenzie Gore
Abrams isn’t going anywhere but I wish Gore the best. He can’t seem to be the pitcher they’ve hyped all these years.
OH MY
So Scherzer is going to the Yankees.
Doubt it.
I know. It was a joke based on yesterday when it was reported that Gallo was going to the Padres then suddenly he went to the Yankees.
Gallo deal was a steal for the Yankees.. Now they can dump Stanton.
Steal? .210 hitter, strikes out a TON while hitting a few homers.
@Win that’s wishful thinking
Dump Stanton to whom exaclty? That this is going to haunt you for another 5+ years.
Nobody and I repeat nobody wants Stanton and that bloated contract. Yankees made that bed and I hope they enjoy laying in it.
You got Gallo for free because apparently Cashmam has blackmail photos of Daniels in Texas. If the Yankees had to spend actual money you wouldn’t have got a bottle of Gallo wine, let alone Joey Gallo. The Stanton contract isn’t going anywhere
The Cardinals will take him, no that was Price , no it was Stanton, we gave away Voit….
Exactly. The Stanton contact makes the Cano contract look reasonable. No halfway decent GM touches either of those albatross contracts.
Member when Stanton was the steal? Good times.
Didn’t think the Nats would do it….
Surprised the Red Sox didn’t get him. Must have been a better prospect
Glad they didn’t. Sale and hopefully Brasier will be back. Keep the farm.
No Max Scherzer ?? No problem, we have Ryan Brasier’s corpse!!!
Lol such denial
It’s really not. Just don’t want to give up the farm for a few months of him when Sale is coming back. Sox have had many trade deadline moves that were duds over the years. The low key moves are best historically.
Brasier is at the park tonight. LOL
In reality the Red Sox lack prospect capital, especially in ML ready pitching. I would much rather keep Houck and Casas then trade them off for a rental
Neither will be going for a rental. That said the team has plenty to offer if they want to. So do many other teams. There is however so much value in young cheap talent. it’s a balancing act between the tax threshold, trying to win now, planning for the future and making moves given the Rule 5 draft every year. DD won it all in 18 and should be remembered fondly as that’s what ownership demanded then. CB is under different orders from ownership yet the fans want to win now. Let this play out and let’s judge him in 2023 for his then body of work.
Bidding against the Padres in a trade is like bidding against the NYY for a free agent. You can only win by overpaying. And it is all for naught anyway. LAD and SDP still have twice any many prospects as we do.
It was a nice dream, but if all we do is to upgrade 1B, I’ll still be happy.
“Bidding against the Padres in a trade is like bidding against the NYY for a free agent. You can only win by overpaying.”
Actually JoeBrady;
It’s the Padres that overpay.
Watch what the results of these these actions will be in 2 years….and for a lot of years thereafter.
But…..We’ll always have Paris!
Reality is you only pay the kings ransom WAS will want if you plan to extend.
I’d rather they spend on the likes of Devers than overcommit to aging pitching (again) and lose another homegrown star (again) because of tax issues. (Cite to mookie)
They’ll be better off without Mookie. That contact was a mistake. He’s on the DL, and has had back and hip issues already. Not good for a 28 year old guy. Wondering if his bowling is contributing to his issues.
@Lucky, hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
But, did you watch the postseason last year? Mookie made game saving catch after game saving catch. Shoestring, robbing home runs.
The dodgers didn’t win the WS without Mookie. Hands down.
So the question goes, how much is a WS worth? Yankees spent over $1 billion on payroll without sniffing a trophy let alone getting one. So had the dodgers pre mookie, among other teams.
When Mookie signed he *was* the kind of player you give a big contract too. Young, very athletic, elite/MVP talent, and a good teammate. His recent injuries are concerning though. Lindor is a good comparison.
I said it then too. It was painful, but best for the organization, and good for Mookie. He got a ring and a great contract. I am conservative in my thinking I know, but bright shiny things aren’t my thing. Low key at the deadline, patch your holes.
OOH, I hope it is Max Scherzer for Eric Hosmer. Seems like a fair trade for both sides.
Kidding right!!??
Of course I am kidding. But as a Padres fan, sure I would love this.
If San Diego is covering a decent portion of the cost why not?
Zimmerman is likely to retire at seasons end and Bell could still be dealt or non-tendered next winter.
I think that would be a terrible trade for Washington. Josh Bell is better than Hosmer. The Nats would be better off just offering a QO to Scherzer and take the draft pick.
Non-tender Bell? Lol ok.
Rsox:
Why not? Because nobody wants Hosmer for another 4 years. Zimmerman probably will retire, but Rizzo can do better than Hosmer in finding a replacement.
I said “if San Diego is covering a decent portion of the cost” i didn’t say straight up with Washington paying the remainder
Sorry but it’s Tatis for Scherzer straight up.
It’s not THAT far fetched.
SD takes max including all the deferred money.
WAS takes Hosmer with full contract.
Now, add SD prospects to cover scherzer’s talent acquisition and you’re good.
So the Padres trade a guy they owe $60 million to in exchange for a guy they will owe $120 million to, and they get to send Washington prospects in addition to that? I think not.
Deferred money 10 or so years from not is worth less than money today or next year…
Sounds like Hosmer is involved.
How do you know that it “sounds like Hosmer is involved”?
I heard Myers, lol
Yeah right. Washington is not that stupid…or are they?
This would be better than the Dodgers getting him.
Nope hater
The media worships the Dodgers despite having only one (fake) championship since 1988.
But more than we have ever had in beautiful San Diego! Let’s not hate or be negative.
Now Eastlake, Parkview and Sweetwater little leagues have been to their perspective World Series so it’s about time for the Padres.
How is it fake? Every team had the same chance. Idiocy
What was fake? They had to beat more teams than they usually would and every other team had the same chance. I’m not a Dodgers fan, but that title is real.
How is last year fake? Didn’t every team in the league play the same amount of regular season games? Please tell us how that is fake? The Dodgers played 4 rounds of playoffs and WS last year and beat the Padres, Braves and Rays so again how is that fake?
Padres have been NL Champions 2X and been to the World Series 2X
’84 and ’98.
Padres had the bad luck of facing two of the greatest teams they could have faced in their World Series Years.:
The ’84 Tigers went started the season 35-5.
And, the Yankees great team of the ’90s..
Any other ballclub and they might have won at least one WS.,
It’s the equivalent of the NFL playing six games or the NBA/NHL playing 30. It’s fake.
As a Giants fan I have to strongly disagree with any belittling of the Dodgers 2020 title. Every team had the same shot, Anything can happen in the PS, and there were more teams to face in the PS.
And then there’s the eye test. The Dodgers were clearly the best team in 2020. If people can’t see that, I question their baseball IQ. Denying the Dodgers title is just sour grapes.
Because it was pretty much 1/3 of a real season. Should definitely have a huge asterisk on your flag.
Every post I have seen from this 48-team MLB clown has been idiotic. Just another reminder that the mute option has been a welcome addition to this site.
48-team MLB:
You’re cherry-picking. The PS was expanded to the extent that was the equivalent of 22 teams in the NFL playoffs. or 25 teams in the NBA playoffs. Much more difficult than just coming out on top of a 60 game season.
You are completely correct.
And it comes mostly from the same people and mindset that can’t just admit that the Astros are a GREAT baseball team, have been for many years, and look solid to continue being so.
Dodgers are also a GREAT baseball team, have been for many years, and look solid to continue being so.
champsorchumps.us/records/most-mlb-wins-since-2015
Unless of course, your team won. Idiocy.
It’s not fake, it’s just not a full season, grind it out, deal with injuries 162 times championship. The Dodgers really need to win a full season championship to shut the critics up. They have the same roster as last year and look at what’s happening. I understand the saying, well they played an expanded playoffs and all that, but so much can happen in a full season as you can see. Which is why after 60 games people give the Dodgers a bad time.
well, there it is
I wish you got him a few hours earlier, before the Nats essentially ended the Phillies season.
My guess is the Girardi sticky stuff incident played a factor in that. And maybe the fact it was a doubleheader
Yeah. Maybe. Props to Mad Max for demanding to pitch. I think it was an idiotic risk for the Nats, that I still don’t understand, but it all worked out in the end. Nats were going to get a decent return for Max even if he didn’t pitch, so it was an unnecessary risk, but Scherzer ended his WSH tenure like a legend.
Don’t worry. With another loss already today, the Mets are doing their best to keep the Phillies season alive.
@rct The Mets stink. The Phillies stink significantly more. The Braves are the team to watch.
@von: Are the Braves the team to watch or do they just look good playing against my Mets? I say the whole division stinks (at least, this year).
I agree that not a single team in the division is impressive. I also think in the case of the Mets and Braves that’s because of injury. The Phillies are just a poorly constructed team. But looking at advanced stats, I think the Braves are actually better than what their record shows. I think they are the biggest threat to the Mets right now, but to your point, they aren’t good either.
yeah Braves 100% got this
I prefer Braves in this – but they better get moving soon, because standings haven’t really budged for months now
Boo yah!
Wow. I am extremely interested to see who they will be giving up. One would think a prospect like Hassell would have to be involved, unless this is another one of Preller’s quantity over quality type deals. Either way, what a potentially massive get for the Padres.
Twins are gonna sit too long and not get the package they should have gotten for Berrios
Bingo!!!
Giants will come with Bart plus a bunch of other dudes for Berrios and Buxton.
Twins management is a disgrace
You do understand that the Twins are cursed due to cheating in the 1991 WS…
Good move since Blake Snell is atrocious
The entire rotation has been pretty weak for about a month now.
Inconsistent, not atrocious. Stick w him and it will pay off. I’d say an era under three next year…he is up and down.
@Sideline: Have to agree with OP here. Snell has been atrocious. He’s been one of the worst starters in baseball all year.
Feeling more and more like the Giants are just gonna go for it with mainly what they have and not go all in. Mixed feelings on it but I understand Zaidi has a plan and he’s far smarter than I.
As a fan it sucks. The proverbial “next year” might never happen. It’s weak to throw away a real chance to win just to stroke your ego or kick the can down the road. Makes me wonder what us fans investing so much time watching these teams is for if the front office will allow the biggest competitors to come snag all the good reinforcements and overtake them.
@Chipps that’s a very short sided outlook. This team is set up for longterm success (and present day apparently). You don’t jeopardize that long term flexibility by trading top prospects for a rental. This team will be churning out major league players from a deep farm for years to come. We are essentially playing with house money at this point, so just enjoy the ride!
@BRUH.SF.BRUH Still think we’ll get an OF bat at the minimum, Bryant being my preference.
I disagree. There is no certainty in tomorrow, only today. It’s always a mistake to play the game farhan is playing in my opinion it rarely works out. House money? So you are fine with them slipping into second or third and having the one game crapshoot play in? When they could have avoided that and possibly won a title this year? All for…possibly having a few of these prospects pan out? You’re entitled to your opinion of course, but today for me is a real bummer and takes away from the enjoyment I had watching this team give it their all this year
A Giants fan complaining? You guys just had a mini dynasty and one of the best FOs in baseball. Chill. Haha.
I agree. The Giants are a legitimate contender, but they’re also still in a phase of “retooling” or whatever you wanna call it. I don’t want to piss away a good team’s season because it’s “not their time yet,” but they also shouldn’t punt the plan for one unexpected strong regular season. In Zaidi we trust, but it’s possible to overthink and over analyze things to the point of inaction…
*Scherzer for Hosmer*
Yeah, eye roll, lol! Was kinda hoping the Crew would be a dark horse here… oh well.
I’ll still take the Brewers pitching over anything the Padres throw out there.
Gibson could make the Brewers staff unbeatable
Not unbeatable, but at least the media might start taking them seriously.
Rays getting Bryant next
Tatis for Max
Only in your dreams lol!
Don’t like the Padres because Twitter loves them. Love max though. I’m in a pickle. You all care about this I know
Mike rizzo will not take quantity. This is going to be a good package
Additional, generic baseball comment!
Dynamite drop in, Monty!
The people needed to hear it from me first!
That broadcasting school is really paying off
There’s no way the Nats just traded Scherzer for Paddack as the headliner. Just no way
Dang..
wowzers… I’ll be watching Padre Dodger games for now on!
Abram Hassell and/or Gore+more have to be headed to WSN or else the Nationals got fleeced of the decade
↑ that’s bait
The Padres are becoming so unrootable. I guess you have to give them credit for trying to win unlike other teams who talk but don’t walk. *Brave*
Why would they become unrootable? The padres are the best story in baseball. AJ Preller built the best farm in baseball and is literally trading all of it to win. Its got to be terrifying and amazing to be a pads fan. Theyre either going to win it all, maybe a couple, or go completely broke and the owners fires everybody
Perhaps “unrootable” for non-Pads fans. It’s tough to root for juggernauts, especially when they are made via free agency. I see nothing wrong with it or anything, but from a casual fan POV, you want the good underdog story, but those are rare for a reason. You need a good front office to put a good product on the field. I think the Pads are an exciting team, but it’s not a feel good story. It’s the rich getting richer. Smart baseball moves though.
With the gnats and marlins throwing in the towel, the division becomes a two team race.
The “gnats.” lol
Preller will try to convince Rizzo that Snell for Max is fair…..Nats folks should have confidence that Rizzo will get the most return…he usually does.
Best part of this is how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked about watching some good pitching on the east coast today while the Nats were playing and Scherzer was pitching. Like he was thinking he might be coming to the Dodgers in a trade lol
Friedman tends to run the Dodgers as a cross between a big market team with unlimited resources and the 2003 Devil Rays
Dodgers did this last year with Lance Lynn, whoem they refused to part with any prospects of value and demanded Texas pay the entirety of Lynn’s salary (apparently Andy does not have the same leverage over Daniels that Cashman does)
And when the Dodgers come up short in starting pitching, who’s going get the blame? The guy in the dugout wearing the uniform, naturally. This is one deal Friedman desperately needed to make, but he always seem to skate.
Dodgers got Scherzer
I bet Cronenworth is part of what goes to Nationals.
THE CRONE ZONE!!!
Am I the only one that watches Padres games on mute?
LOL That friar play by play guy didn’t act like or talk that way when he was doing Bo Sox games.He played the straight man no frills and was lauded.
Doubt it. Subtracting from the mlb roster only creates another issue theyd need to address.
They have a ton of depth, especially after adding Frazier.
I read that unpacking everything in Max’s contract would take some time so this isn’t something that could come together tomorrow afternoon.
Wow and it’s not even Friday yet…..
Yup I wander what tomorrow will
look like
Franco, my dear, I don’t give a damn…
Ikr. The Cubs still have Bryant and Kimbrel on the block. I cant get any work done. Looks like I’ll have to pull a Saturday to get my month end stuff done
Would think Giants or Red Sox would make more sense.
San Diego might not even make the playoffs.
What an Insane amount of talent they have traded for this year.
That’s fine. They traded for basically an entire new rotation in the off-season and are still in third place.
This one might sting.
Refresh wait. Refresh wait. Fmrefresh wait.
Unrelated story, I hear the Padres are DFA Daniel Camarena as part of the process, per Scherzers request to approve the trade.
Gore going to Washington? Possibly?
Could the Pads take Corbin as well? Maybe the Nats can get some pine tar back…
Where is that arrogant little “man” Natsman1 who told me back in April that I was crazy and I know nothing because I said that trading Scherzer wasn’t unrealistic, I was embarrassing myself and everything I said was nonsense…
Those low information baseball fans shrink back into the woodwork!
We are trading Senzel for him
as if anyone cares about san diego lol
Yes!!
For the record, I’m ambivalent to which west coast NL team he’s traded.
Could be the greatest WC game in history. One game playoff Dodgers vs Padres.
They need a frontline starter badly. Seems like a good fit
Dang, decreases the bidding war for the Twins and Berrios. Maybe the Pads will do like they did in the off-season and go big for both of em lol
Although, of it’s an even larger hail for Scherzer, as it should be, that’s only a good think to drive up Berrios’ value…
Could you imagine if the Red Sox would of got him
jeeez
Scherzer wanted one last hoorah with the Nationals, to stick it to Girardi, and make sure he had 5 days to adjust to San Diego
I’m very happy with this. Really didn’t want it to be the Red Sox. The Padres are an exciting club and still have tons of holes beyond their obvious strengths, so having Scherzer on the Padres feels like a win for baseball in general and doesn’t make them a substantially enhanced threat to other clubs.
Solid all around transaction.
wasnt Chaim bloom brought in the red sox organization to make big deals and bring the team forward, why did he blow this? i just dont get it… they dont even need him. I am curious what his agent selling point’ hey max, wanna go to a 3rd place team thats never won a world series and most likely never will?
sure!
Claim was brought in to save money, get under the cbt, redevelop the farm, and find new sources of everyday players making league minimum or close to it.
The ‘Go big or go home’ blockbuster stack the roster guy was his predecessor dombrowski
The Best large contract that worked out for the team in history
Good for the Padres
future hall of famer? entry standards are getting lower and lower
What?
Well…you are an honorable Twitter hero nowadays if you are having a tough day & bail on your Olympic teammates.
So.
That’s not what happened. Would love to see what you’ve accomplished. She endured things no one should have, and it caught up to her. Pathetic comment.
Scherzer is definitely a Hall of Famer. IDK what else he would need to accomplish for you to agree.
Comparable to Curt Schilling at this stage of their careers. Schilling is not in.
Shilling is not in do to political bs that shouldn’t reflect what he did on the field.
I knew it, now go get Pineda too, both Paddack and Lamet to the bullpen, BP is great just need SP going deeper into the 6th and 7th inning.
Bullseye
God it’s gotta be a blast to be a Padres fan lately, @Gwynning.
Cashman & Dominguez for Preller.
Jim Bowden is clueless
Remember when the Phillies had Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hammels? That’s what I think of with this Padres rotation.
wasn’t it just a couple days ago that the Phillies had all but completed a trade for Tyler Anderson? Let’s see how this plays out.
It is going to be one hell of a pennant race between Giants, Padres and Dodgers. The Giants have been doing it with grit. The Padres would be adding a big time arm and now you have annual dinged Kershaw. If Kershaw’s health flutters down the stretch that 3 game lead on the Padres is going to be nothing.
This move definitely puts the WC game at PETCO with the Dodgers. The Giants lead is huge, but the Padre schedule the next 3 weeks is week and they play the Giants 10x in September. Preller is still not done!
Two games is huge?
@BlueSkies it is if there’s one game left lol. Otherwise, I think this comment is pretty knee-jerk
If anything I expect the Giants to be playing in the Wild Card game and either the Dodgers or Padres to take the division. The Giants have been an amazing story this year overachieving but I think LA or SD passes them for the division before it’s all said and done.
At some point, like when the calendar is about to flip over to August, and a team has been in first place almost the entire season, it might be time to rate that team’s chances as being real. We might also be seeing how important Zaidi was to the success of the Dodgers, now that all the right strings are being pulled in San Francisco and not so much in LA. The other day I read an article where Friedman bemoaned the fact that he hardly gets any sleep during the last week of July, and I’m not impressed or sympathetic. I’m thinking, why not hire a GM for chrissakes, instead of trying to do it all yourself?
Go get Kris Bryant now!
Don’t believe it if the source is Jim Bodwen. He’s always wrong.
Rosenthal
Bowden is the worst. I listen to MLB Radio far less than I used to because I just can’t stand Bowden.
If he gets hurt. Then it’s a complete waste. Also what about the contract extension? Does Max want to Stay in San Diego longer than this season. We shall see
Agree. He is making this deal because his previous deals for Clevinger, Snell, and to a lesser extent, Musgrove havn’t worked out like they’d hope.
**Musgrove era 4.50 over the last 2 months (since about the time when pitcher inspections started)
Hello IL. Another pitcher to go bad. See Clevinger.
If it is SD I would think rizzo would want Weathers in the deal coming back
Nah, gnats will persist on 5 players to be named lated with deferred salary
MFIC!
Does that mean the Padres are likely out on Berrios then? Or would they try for both?
These guys really thought they won the WS over the winter and now they gotta give up even more just to get another SP. lmao! At this rate, Preller will have to trade his own children
Padre TwitterLand has the team already getting sizes for rings. lol
Lol especially in a playoff series, any team can get hot hot in the best of 5 or 7 series.
Haha. That deep farm system turned out to be Fernando tatis and 24 hired guns.
Too bad no ws for them again
Always makes me laugh when Padres fans accuse the Dodgers of trying to buy a championship once you look at how both of their rosters were constructed.
Well, they did at one point. Padres also doing it doesn’t negate the years the dodgers did such.
They gave up CJ Abrams and Mckenzie Gore for Mad Max Scherzer
Fake news.
It’s not fake news , it’s true
According to Nightengale it’s those two studs plus Hassel and 8 other prospects.
That all?
Lol and the Nats threw Turnet,Ross, and 3 prospects in as well so the Padres felt bad and Sent back Machado as well. Let’s wait and see who was traded and if this gets official,all players still have to pass physicals and such.
You wish!
Why does it feel like the Padres have an endless supply of high-end prospects? At some point the cupboard has to run bare with all the trading!? Right?
Because the Padres had the deepest farm system in MLB history 2019-2020 but every one was busy mocking AJ Preller. Believe it or not, MLB is still sleeping on the Padre Farm system as even after this trade, there is still value at the lower levels. It is next to impossible for a prospect to break into the Padre 26 man roster now. The 26 man roster is very young as it is. I see Abrams busting through late 2022 and Hassell late 2023, not much room after that. If the Padres are smart, they will be able to trade some very good MLB pieces after 2023 for good lower level prospects [keeps feeding the system] as the system continues to produce 1-2 MLB players a year. Preller and his crew are very good at scouting talent.
If the prospects can’t break through how is there room for veteren players? There’s either room or there isn’t!
When you’re bad for a decade, you get higher draft picks.
Ouch! Burrrrrrn
Wow. How do the Padres have any good prospects left? I will say, although I’m a Dodgers fan I respect the aggressiveness of the Padres GM. Every time I think they’ve gone all in they do more lol. Crazy. Wish Friedman would be s little more aggressive this deadline. Clearly need to make some moves. Need to get another late inning guy and definitely need another starter.
Friedman is again a day late and a dollar short. The Padres also have a much richer farm system at this point than the Dodgers.
If the trade goes through, Id like them to get Berrios or Gray and then add bullpen pieces like Hudson and Kimbrel. We could use a bat off the bench too.
Wishful thinking. Both Berrios and Gray are second rate compared to Scherzer, and will cost more besides. Kimbrel, that just isn’t going to happen. Friedman is probably thinking they’ll get Knebel back by September and won’t need the extra depth at the back end. As for bench bats and bullpen pieces, expect more rooting around in the DFA scrapheap.
Not that being aggressive is the key to a good GM, but when has Friedman not been aggressive? Trade deadline deals are not the only thing GMs do.
Prellar hasn’t won a thing yet.
He is making this deal because his other 3 pitching transactions haven’t worked out.
Bye to Max, best big contract ever. He earned every cent and this Nats fan wishes him nothing but good things while also thanking Rizzo for finally trying to reset this aging team a bit.
Very good post, as much as I hated the Mets facing mad max lol. Scherzer definitely cemented his soon to be HOF career while earning every bit of that contract pitching in Washington. Gl in Sd Mad Max.
The package I came up with on BTV is as follows:
Padres get Max Scherzer
Nationals get Anderson Espinoza, Josh Mears, Matthew Acosta, Ethan Elliott and Justin Lange
Replace Lange with Medina, Haynes, or Contreras. Other than that looks good.
That’s more than what the Rangers got for 1.5 years of gallo
BTV didn’t even accept the package the Rangers got for Gallo. That means either they really overvalued him or the Rangers really undervalued him.
Or the site is stupid to use for reality
@BeforeMcCourt You can take it or leave it all you want but I think the package I came up with is probably fair for Scherzer.
LOL Did you add in the BTV that Tx is paying Gallo salary? Crazy trade I mean Crazy giveaway!!!
Like the aggressiveness. The Friars keep making these splash moves, yet they continue to look up at the teams ahead of them in the division standings.
Bingo
we lose G1 because SD doesnt do the deal early enough. we lose G2 because we cant get TA. lovely.
You’d have to think the Dodgers and Giants are going to be aggressively after Berrios now
it’s a sign of how successfully mlb owners have convinced fans to care about payroll that anyone is questioning this move. why in heck would the padres not try to “win now”? a few freak injuries would torpedo the entirely hypothetical 5-year window cherished by fans who appear to care more about farm system rankings than championships. the padres are taking their best shot, as they should. old man rant over!
fml
False alarm.
Welcome to Boston, Max
Patrick Sandoval huh? Who would of thunk?
Pads’ fans are about to get teased twice in two days. Sorry, guys.
And you guys got nothing for Gallo Lol.
Sucks to be a ranger fan who stoops to bashing a playoff team with better prospects for success for the next decade! Maybe don’t talk about other teams when yours is literally a heap of trash burning out of control in a place they refer to as the ballpark in arlington!
Drive up the price and walk away Preller.
If I’m the Nats, I’d trade with the Dodgers. Just look at Verdugo and all the prospects they bring up.
It’s been Tatis and disappointment coming out of SD’s system in the majors..
Oh I dunno. Cronenberg’s pretty good. So is Chris Paddack. But yeah, it hasn’t been quite as advertised.
Who’s Cronenberg?
He’s the PA Man for the Fryburg Turtles.
Idk, patino seems to look good and even Urias looking better. It’s not what it was hyped to be, but they never are. Most farm systems are overrated and very few prospects have big impact.
Scherzer to the Padres? Mark it down: The Padres will NOT win the World Series.
31 teams will not win the world series, not a very bold prediction there!
Thrill.
Heyman with boras provided report trying to get SD to give scherzet some bonus to accept. Heyman is clueless.
Just hope Padre fans know they can never complain that the dodgers or any other team “bought” their success
Tank and spend FTW!
And remember. Since Scherzer has a NTC, if the Nats like the Padres’ package better than the Dodgers package but Scherzer says he’d rather go to the Dodgers, he’s going to the Dodgers. Vice versa too.
If Scherzer goes to an NL team, Mets HAVE to do something. As we sit now, we have too many question marks and inconsistency. Simply “hoping” that Carrasco, deGrom and Walker can stay healthy, along with “hoping” McNeil, Conforto Davis and Lindor will produce enough is getting late. Sixty games to go and the Braves aren’t going away.
No offense but the Mets need to do something regardless of where Scherzer goes. They may win the NL East but they’re not going to compete with the NL West, the Brewers or maybe even the Reds come playoff time. They have massively underachieved this year.
Very fair comment. The Mets have been ravaged by injuries. I believe they have started 16 different pitchers this year. They are 7th in MLB in ERA, so at least that is going as well as it could. They have really sucked batting. 1/3 of their guys or more are underachieving and another 1/3 have been injured.
The Mets need at least 2 more arms and likely could use a bat too. If deGrom can come back healthy, I feel pretty good about deGrom, Stroman, Carrasco, with Syndergaard coming out of the bullpen. Magill should see some innings too. Familia and Diaz will continue to be rollercoasters, but I’m hopefully Smith, May, Loup, and Lugo can bring some stability to the pen.
Please, anywhere but satan’s team in Boston!
Bosox signed satan? Decent signing, needs to cut down on his stealing, thou shalt not!
Lol that’s not what he meant, it means that he was implying that Satan is a Red Sox fan.
That went right over your head huh? Or did it bounce off your head like Canseco?
If it comes down to Scherzer choosing the team he wants to join, Boston will walk away with this Deal. They are the best team to make the total run to the Championship & another Ring for Scherzer.
he already said that he heavily prefers the west coast. I failed geography but im still fairly sure Boston is nowhere near the west coast.
Boston is in a better position for the post-season though… currently top of the division with Sale soon coming back could be more enticing than rolling the dice in the wild card game. He can go out West in the off-season.
And Tampa can pass Boston before the season is over and then the Sox are playing in the Wild Card game. Too early to say one location is more desirable than the other.
Very true. I guess the argument Id make is that the Red Sox path to the WS is much less daunting in the AL than in the NL where you’d have to go through the Dodgers, Giants, Brewers.
Astros appear to be the biggest threat at this point. White Sox are a sleeper pick but I think they’re 1 year away.
Of course you expect Sale to come back and be the same Sale you remember from 2018 and before….and this is after RJ surgery and a very suspect 2019….many TJ pitchers take quite some time to “regain” their former capabilities and/or actually see improvement but you Beantown fans think he’s going to step in and actually dominate!
He’ll be on pitch counts and max innings regardless to be sure he doesn’t blow out his arm again!
the defending champs might be a better choice if he wants a champioship
Damnnnn…..the San Diego Padres will no longer HAVE a farm after Scherzer, Darvish, Clevinger, Frazier and Snell…….Talk about “going for it now”.
Why does the MLB network have regional games on today? We need Sherman & his unwashed hair manning phones along side Heyman & Morisi making calls to get hung up on live TV!!!!!
Um, even after all those trades,they were still ranked #6 in the majors. Nice try though…..
BREAKING NEWS!! Giants go dumpster diving for those being released after all transactions!!! Please let me be wrong
Nats got 2 1st round picks from SD in the Wil Myers trade.
Trea Turner and Joe Ross return would be similar to CJ Abrams and Mackenzie Gore right now.
Will the nats build a package to get both Abrams and Gore?
Every baseball fan would love to be a part of a baseball community taking the steps of the Padres FO. It’s awesome. They’re taking every major opportunity to significantly improve their club and win now. This is the way to endear your executive staff to your fanbase and draw in younger/new fans.
It would be interesting to see them sign all the SS free agents this next offseason.
Preller does this every 5 years or so.
Remember when he traded for Wil Myers, Derek Norris, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Kimbrel and signed James Shields?
He had to pay most of Shields salary but was able to get Tatis jr in return.
I think Preller might be better at building a farm system than running a contender.
Hopefully he doesn’t have to blow this team up in a year or 2.
Nooooooooooo
Drop the hammer, Chaim!
Don’t think they have the juice vs either the Padres or the Giants….sorry the Chaim’s cupboard is BARE!
They most be working on a bigger deal, Schwarber? Hosmer? Corbin? Campusano?
Man, what can’t the Padres do? The only thing they ever did wrong was give the ok to those poo/pee uniforms.
They gave up lots talents for Snell. Thats the worst thing what AJ has done
Everyone amazed with the Pads forget that they did this same thing, in 2014.
It didn’t work and they had to rebuild it again
Probably the dumbest post on the entire Internet today! The 2 situations not remotely similar.
If ya can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Max lost leads of 8-0 and 4-0 in his last two starts against SD, almost if not back-to-back.
I don’t know what Larry Rothschild isn’t doing (sorry, probably unfair to him) with Skinny Pete Snell and lately with Darvish, but it’s fairly safe to assume that Max isn’t heavily reliant on an ancient (sorry again, Lar) pitching coach at this point in his life.
This limbo would kill me if I were a Padre fan.
Need to know what team I have to buy that Scherzer shirtsey for
You lost your clothing privileges when you used the term “shirtsey.” From this day forth, you shall only be covered in two things…tar and feathers!
WTF is Zaidi waiting for?
The World Series so he can win it.
Maybe he’s just posturing because he actually holds some power in this decision, I mean think about it Max had to waive his no trade he may not want to do that to walk into the LA clubhouse with public Bauer issues. Maybe he isn’t as fond of SF or SD in some manner also, maybe SD had all the potential but they are a young bunch of un proven guys in the post season. The opposite would apply in SF lots of veterans with playoff experience, but less talent technically but also a better position in the standings and no huge sign of decline. I understand they lost to the Pirates 2/3 which is sad but then they took 2/3 from the Dodgers. Duffy goes to the Dodgers maybe that’s the only move they wanna make, if max will only waive his clause to go where he wants that gives the team he wants to goto the power not the nationals.
The Angels….lol
Angels? Why? They’re terrible. Scherzer would be like putting a bandaid on a bullethole
I thought the same thing
Yeah but the bandaid is made out of FLEXTAPE so we know it’s gonna hold!
Bahahaha like he’d approve a trade to the Angels.
Francona leaving the Tribe for remainder of the yr.Health concerns.Thoughts go out to Tito.
Why would the Angels want Scherzer? To ensure they beat Texas out for fourth in the division?
No way Max approves a trade to them anyway.
Someone needs to let Moreno know his $ plays,But’ his accumen in this hobby of his is embarrassing.
I wonder what it means to be “in the mix” when it looks like the Padres and the Nats have already come to an agreement. Is it like final offer time, or what? Does it mean the player is deciding where he’d prefer to go?
It means that they are the only team willing to say they offered players lol
Angels are NO WAY in the mix because Max-a-million would axe that idea right in its tracks! He would not agree to that, this I’m sure.
Maybe they are the only team willing to offer him an extension.
@Mr username changer why would that matter? And who wants to sign an extension with that joke of an organization anyway?
Dude, lose the grudge. Your weird sexual fantasy is somewhat titillating, and I would be lying if I didn’t say my ego wasn’t inflated, but stop, for the love of baseball.
. Maybe Arte Moreno made Max & the Nats an offer they just can’t refuse? I’d love it if it were only true.
Extension. Next year you start with Trout, Ohtani, and Rendon. Good Lord.
Would make more sense for Anaheim to keep their prospects and sign Max in the winter. You never see a losing club (successfully) trade for a rental and then extend him. And Max isn’t giving anyone any kind of discount.
Scherzer to the Angels would make my day but I’m not holding my breath. They need Trout & Rendon back & maybe a couple of bullpen arms.
The Angels LMFAO!!! Get outta here with that nonsense.
Two words: Trout and Ohtani. If you’re Max, you’re thinking beyond 2021 (and so are the Angels).
@dirkg No you’re not. He’s a rental. He’s trying to go to a likely 2021 contender.
It’s ridiculous on several levels, but the reality is they need more than Scherzer to be a serious playoff contender. Maybe they’re more interested in extending him for a couple years.
@solaris602 Would make more sense for Anaheim to just sign him FA and keep their prospects. Like what exactly do they expect to happen by trading for him? Him to just magically fall in love with the place in 2 months while they aren’t contending and sign there for half of what the market would have offered? How likely really is that?
This feels like the Nationals have a date to the Prom but they’re still holding out hope the Homecoming Queen will decide to go with them.
yankees send Voit for Max.
Why the Angel?
(“In my best horse race announcing voice)
“It’s the Dodgers, Padres, Red Sox, Giants jockeying for position. The Padres take the lead going around the last corner. It’s the Padres in the lead….wait, here come the Angels making a move around the outside!!!”
The Angels?? LMAO!
Laugh now but……let’s say for arguements sake he signs an extension right after the trade. You have Scherzer and Ohtani at the top of the rotation, and assuming all are healthy you would have a middle of the order of Trout, Ohtani, Rendon. It’s funny for now because it makes absolutely no sense for right now but if he has an extension lined up it’s not so funny anymore.
You can’t just assume the player signs an extension. Especially when he wants to go to a contender, which the Angels aren’t.
Did you read the comment? “Lets say for arguments sake”
Heyman just being throw shiz out there. Little known fact, his sources are just his pets. I’m serious. Look it up.
It’s probably Boras throwing stuff out there.
Wonder who padres offered?
The Pads reminded Washington about gifting them Trea Turner for John Phillip Sousa or some such, appealing to the good in their nature. It appears to have worked.
Now they must appeal to Maxwell’s benevolent soul – or remind him that if he opts for LA they will kick him around like he’s James Shields.
I heard Paddock was one of the 3 people they offered. I forgot who the 2 others were.
The Reds should be all over Trea Turner.
Baseball reporters are laughably bad at their “jobs.”
Angels. Salary swap. Send Rendon back to the Nats. Scherzer joins the Angels. We can still dream ….. but what if?
Angels. Salary swap. Send Rendon back to the Nats. Scherzer joins the Angels. We can still dream ….. but what if?
This blog didn’t age well.
I just wanted to come back to this thread and see if the Madres fans were still excited that they were getting Max…
Okay, so you were a couple of hours off in moderate traffic on I-5 North.
Dodgers sweep in and say “nope, and just for that we will aquire Turner as well from the Nats.”