The Mets have dropped seven of their last ten, leaving them at 35-43 heading into Tuesday’s game against Milwaukee. Coming off a 101-win season and boasting the highest player payroll in MLB history, they’re on the shortlist of the most disappointing teams in the league.
A little more than a month from the trade deadline, New York could wind up being one of the more fascinating clubs to follow. Ownership and the front office would surely prefer the club plays its way back into contention and puts them in position to add this summer, though that’s no small feat. Hopes of winning the NL East are gone, and the team sits 8 1/2 games out of the last Wild Card spot with six teams to surpass.
If the Mets pivot to selling off veteran pieces, opposing teams could at least ponder a run at Max Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young award winner is in the second season of a three-year, $130MM free agent deal. He’s making an MLB-record $43.333MM annually and can opt out and retest free agency at season’s end.
Scherzer’s deal contains a full no-trade clause, so the Mets couldn’t move him without his consent. Industry sources suggest to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that Scherzer would be amenable to waiving the provision in the right circumstances — presumably one that’d see him shipped to a team with legitimate 2023 championship aspirations. Scherzer famously waived a no-trade clause in his deal with the Nationals at the 2021 deadline, enabling the stunner that landed him and Trea Turner in Dodger blue.
That’s not to say a trade is likely this time around. The no-trade clause is one of myriad roadblocks. The Mets aren’t going to pull the plug on the ’23 season until absolutely necessary; the roster still has a few weeks to take itself off the bubble. Even if the Mets were to consider moving veteran players, parting with Scherzer would represent a much bigger decision than relinquishing pure rentals like David Robertson and Tommy Pham.
While Scherzer could join Robertson and Pham on the open market, he’s by no means a lock to do so. He’d have to forfeit the largest single-year salary in MLB history. Scherzer isn’t performing at vintage level and will turn 39 next month, so there’s no assurance he’d do much better than $43.333MM on the open market. The eight-time All-Star might be able to top that guarantee but would probably have to spread it over a two-year deal with lesser yearly salaries.
Over 13 starts and 70 2/3 innings, he’s carrying a 3.95 ERA. His 26.2% strikeout rate is still quite good but a few points below typical levels. His velocity and swinging strike numbers aren’t far off his customary marks, though he’s allowing home runs at a career-high clip.
If the Mets feel Scherzer is unlikely to opt out, they could view dealing him this summer as too much of a blow to their 2024 chances even if they’re definitively out of this year’s mix. The record salaries, meanwhile, could be a problem for teams considering a run at him. It’s unlikely another franchise would absorb the approximate $14.2MM Scherzer will collect between August 1 and season’s end, to say nothing of the ’24 commitment they could assume if he doesn’t test free agency.
Of course, the Mets could shoulder much of Scherzer’s deal to facilitate a trade if they wanted to restock the farm system. Andy Martino of SNY reported last week that owner Steve Cohen was willing to leverage his spending capacity to bolster the prospect pipeline — either by taking on another team’s undesirable deal or covering contracts of players shipped out of Queens. New York put that into action by paying down Eduardo Escobar’s $9.5MM salary to the league minimum to facilitate his trade to the Angels.
Doing the same with Scherzer would be in a completely different stratosphere — both in terms of the money New York is retaining and the hit they’d deal to the MLB roster. There’s no indication it’s a consideration right now. That Scherzer may not be categorically opposed to changing uniforms at least leaves open the possibility of a second blockbuster in three years, but the no-trade clause is far from the only impediment.
Lmfao
“AMAZIN”
Just a cuppa times.
Laugh now, but Sidd Finch is on his way.
That 270 kmh fastball was a thing of beauty. It’s still sad Sidd retired after only one day of spring training.
If they had only signed Correa none of this losing woulda been done. Itd be like 78-0 but nooooo, everybody was like, “baby got back! Aint gonna sign dat dude!”
Everyone does understand that the mets eat his contract for prospects right? Money Cohen has, prospects he is light on.
if they’re smart they’ll use their competitive advantage ($) to collect a boatload of prospects by eating contracts in trades
That’s exactly what he just said.
That’s dumb because they have to pay $80MM for prospects then pay them another $300MM each if they’re good. Meanwhile the Dodgers paying Aces $1MM a year
That’s the only way either top pitcher gets traded. Cohen will pay the money to get the best prospect 100 times/100.
metslvt17;
Why would a teams with top prospects – cheap and under control for 6 years – trade them for 40 year-old guys on the downside?
“Top prospects” is a term of art. You wouldn’t give up a top-10/20, but you could easily give up a top-80, depending on how much salary the NYMs were willing to pick up.
And who would be interested?
The Padres have already spent $285M and are an underdog to make the playoffs. And they need another SP this year, and need to replace Snell next year. Another say $20M remaining this year might be an easy line to cross.
Or maybe the Angels. They have a legit shot at the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Adding another very good SP to their rotation would make them very tough. It would be a marketing mistake to miss the playoffs when they are so close.
jo adell for (angels pay)$15 mil of mad max’s deal, anyone?
Yeah but Samuel, definitely thinking Mad Max could definitely help some team out there chasing the playoffs. He’s definitely worth at least 2 prospects in someone’s 5-15.
Because they are one Veteran pitcher with experience short of a playoff team or WS.
No, he isn’t. He was last year and prior, his arm keeps dying in the playoffs. And he hasn’t been great this season.
Adell is possible, but the Mets would be stupid to go for it. All that does is gets their 2023 payroll down to $355M and the 2024 payroll down to $240M. It is like the Padres. At some point, you have to give up on the idea of a rational payroll and just go for broke.
If the Mets want to eat 20 plus million per season some team might give up a, singular, worthwhile prospect.
Seriously, it’s not the numbers Scherzer is putting up, it’s the numbers he’s owed too. He’s pitching like a middle of the rotation starter and given his age, odds of him pitching like an ace again are pretty slim. Teams just won’t give up top talent and pay the money, they may give up a little talent to pay fair market value but his market value right now maybe is 20 million.
JoeBrady — Also the Giants, who are certainly going after a top starting pitcher at the deadline and now have shown that many of their prospects are ready.
Captain-Judge99 — Overpay unless Mets swallow a chunk of money..
There will be a few. The thing is, and this gets overlooked because of the $43M number, it isn’t a terrible contract. I think the absolute downside is that you get a #2/good #3 for too much money on a short contract. Pitching like he is now, he is still likely worth $15-20M
But over his last 8 starts, he has a 3.19/3.11 ERA/FIP. I don’t think he is an ace, but for teams that think they are on the cusp, it is not horrible either.
What are you talking about? 43 million absolutely IS a terrible contract unless he’s pitching to a sub 2 era.
What you are also over looking is it’s a 43 million player option for next season. How many times did the writers on here say that Stromans player option significantly reduces his value because “teams assume all the risk”? Not that Scherzer would opt out of his 43 million dollars regardless.
drasco036 — No way Scherzer opts out of $43M in2024. The only way Mets can deal him is to pay down 2023 and 2024, but that’s not Scherzer’s problem.
Right, he won’t opt out. Teams will be on the hook for 43 million if he blows his arm out. Scherzer has also been suspended already this season for cheating, I mean sweating and he’s what? 38 years old?
drasco036 — The point is that Scherzer WON’T opt out, but the team acquiring him WON’T be paying him $43M either because the Mets will have to pay down the 2023 AND 2024 figures.
Your assumption is… fixed it.
@Pete’sView- I definitely hear you. I always liked Scherzer though. He may not be the same, but I would take him on the Yankees pitching 5 or 6 innings a game, not that he’s coming here. Just saying.
Agreed. They will have to eat the $ to get any real haul of prospects.
They would have to eat all the contract to get a “haul”. The Dodgers gave up a “haul” but that Scherzer pitching at his peak and a yeah and a half of control for in his prime and affordable Trea Turner.
If the Mets were to pay off about half Scherzers contract, he would probably net them two prospects of note, and by “note” I mean maybe one top 100 prospect in the 50-100 range and a top 15 organizational prospect.
Or course, Scherzer may still have a lot in the tank and turn it on between now and the deadline, pitch like a top arm in baseball, but then I would assume the Mets wouldn’t entertain a trade (unless he’s demanding one behind the scenes.
I think that’s about right, although my guess is the Mets have to pay down a bit more than half of what he is still contracted for.
The Phillies would be interested. They have been on an apparent run of picking up ex Mets and Yankees players, or managers and coaches. Wheeler, Walker, Gregorius, Robertson, Girardi, Tompson, etc. And ex Nationals players too…Harper, Turner. Scherzer fits this mold for a trade. LOL The Phillies shop many a garage sales for deals of players. And they do need another potential hopeful end of the rotation starter. To get them just over that 4-5 inning quality start pitchers get these days.
Right…
I feel bad for the folks in queens… got all excited and the reality is Cohen would have been better off lighting his money on fire by doing cocaine with AJ Preller
And why wouldn’t he be?
Even though they’re giving it to the brewers tonight, this Mets team is awful. Blow it up
Mets about to have the world’s most expensive garage sale
> Mets about to have the world’s most expensive old garbage sale
Fixed it
Well done sir 🙂
I do yard sales every week and rich people usually want more for their stuff.
> I do yard sales every week and
> rich people usually want more
> for their exquisite heirlooms.
Fixed it
People often get cheaper as they get richer.
Where are the loser posters like Put It In The Books and the ilk that were proclaiming Mets dominance all off-season into the regular season? There was also a Camden Yards someone, not the normal guy that is a good poster, probably the same Mets guy I listed above. They didn’t even wait until September or October to choke this season.
> Where are the loser posters
> like Put It In The Books and
> the ilk that were
They are running the Mets. Those were the front office employees you were speaking to. You were among greatness, friend.
I cannot wait to hear what is said at Cohen’s press conference tomorrow before the game.
A bunch of cope and seethe 🙂
Craven not only do you have greatest name in internet history imo but you have Beetlejuice image!!!! Love it …. Beet is top wackpacker …. Ohh and still plenty of season left for teams to scratch way into post season gonna be fun 2nd half
Craven is on the mlbtraderumors comment section board of directors. I believe he is the CFO
Yanksfan75,
Appreciate the love homie. Cuppa fist bumps
Right back at u buddy …. Thanks for always cracking me up with great funny comments
He’ll bash Gamestop.
#Lloyd Emerson
I imagine he’ll say something along the lines of, “This doesn’t happen on MLB the Show.”
Quitter
If Daddy Cohen doesn’t want him, why would anyone whose goal is to actually play in the postseason? Wouldn’t want to jeopardize his career
the same reason why anyone trades for anyone. if the Mets are out of it he has more valuable to a team trying to win a World Series that has a real chance which the Mets don’t this year
But, but his arm
Maybe try READING the article instead of looking like a fool
“His 26.2% strikeout rate is still quite good but a few points below typical levels. His velocity and swinging strike numbers aren’t far off his customary marks, though he’s allowing home runs at a career-high clip”
Not sure if that’s mean for me but all I see is “although he’s doing this, it’s actually off of his career norms.” Plus 39 years old in a month. Plus about $20 million left on the season. Plus workload. Yeah, bud. I’m seeing a lot more cons with this guy than pros
I’ll bite.
Let’s pretend my Pirates didn’t fall off a cliff recently. They needed SP from the get-go. Instead of their dropping out of 1st place in NL Central, they’ve managed to hang in there to trade deadline. Max Scherzer to give them a potential playoff arm?
Sure, his stats are off of HIS career norm, but they’re still miles ahead of other SP on the Pirates roster.
Obviously this is all fantasy, but discounting Scherzer’s worth is a fool’s errand.
A slightly downgraded Scherzer is better than most teams #2/#3 and with there being very limited amount of arms available on the market right now, someone will want to add Scherzer. Per the article, he will be owed $14.2 million come deadline time. That can also be negotiated. Cohen has shown willingness to eat cash. If the Mets want top prospects, they will cover his salary. If they just want to move him to get the money off their books, they will get less of a prospect haul.
There is always Noah Snyderguard too. Pick your poison
> Let’s pretend my Pirates …
> Max Scherzer to give them
> a potential playoff arm?
Sure, anything is/could have been possible. But he would have to agree to that sort of trade and I think he would decline it.
Plus, he may not opt out of next year’s salary. I don’t think there’s any way possible they would’ve been able to swing the $43,333,334 potentially owed him for next year.
My argument was purely on the fact Scherzer has worth on the field, not if the Pirates could afford him. It was a response to the person above thinking he suddenly can’t pitch anymore.
Won’t be a fool’s errand when his arm goes dead in the middle of a pennant race. Does depend though, on what Cohen is able to pry from a team’s farm
Sorry, I read into it too much.
No offense but he has fizzled after the deadline the last few years, so paying a prospect cost and the remaining contract combined with opt out I don’t see many takers.
Mets are going to have to pay a lot of that contract to mitigate the risk
If he gets traded the team that gets him would only have to pay him league minimum. That’s still less money the Mets would have to pay him if he stays.
What? He gets his $40 million a year no matter what. No one is trading for him unless the Mets send $30 or $40 million with him.
You mean if he is claimed off waivers
If you’re another team and would only have to pay a few million/year why not sign him. If Mets dump him that would be a mistake. Mets should keep him he’s overpaid.
That’s not how that works… that’s if he was waived and claimed. For a trade its whatever the 2 teams work out… it could be as much as 14 million still left for this year.
The Mets wouldn’t trade him unless they pay the salary anyway. They’d get nothing of value trading him and expecting the other team to pay his full remaining contract. Cohen is not interested in shedding salary for nothing. He doesn’t care about salary. He cares about strengthening his prospect pool.
@avenger
Cohen is well known for clipping coupons so he can save the prorated league min salary.
They also get nothing of value by not trading him.
He’ll do more for a playoff contender than deGrom. Thanks for taking him off our hands.
Being bad and overpaid is worse than being good and injured. Besides, there is an option. 6-0 in his starts is a lot more than he will do in the playoffs or regular season. Hoe about the 400 MM payroll, though, after luxury tax?
avenger65 — In no universe would Mets DFA SCherzer and disqualifies any chance another team gets him at “league minimum.” Think this out.
Depending on Manfred, and I do believe that he would finally draw the line on this one, Cohen could conceivably chip in Scherzer’s entire salary for the right prospect.
I wouldn’t trust Eppler with making a team friendly deal, especially for prospects. the problem with the Mets has always been the front office. the last 5 years with Van Wagenen, Porter and Eppler have been horrible. bring back Steve Phillips or Omar,or Jim Duquette. they even would probably be better off with an AI program running the FO now.
I know you said no offense, but I am still mightily offended.
> I know you
Now you know.
And knowing is half the battle.
Back to the Dodgers!
As a fan of the team, hard pass.
Only time you can really rely on the Mets is in RBI Baseball for Ninetendo
That game came out in 87, so it featured the coked-up World Champion Mets. They were excellent.
VonPurpleHayes
Love the NL and AL All Star rosters in that game
Same!
Only way I could be Mattingly in that game is if I choose the AL All Star team lol
For the AL All Stars, I would always instantly sub out Randolph for McGwire and Schroeder for Molitor. For the NL, Sandberg for Dale Murphy and Al Pedrique out for Pedro Guerrero. Power-packed lineups in the year of the Rabbit Ball.
Rct
Catching fly balls in that game was interesting. Sometimes it becomes a little bit of an adventure, especially pop ups! Also love the way the batter cringes when you plunk them and it makes that funny sound effect
Someone with an ex-Phil’s screenname should know the Mets have never been a “world champion”. Murica!
why do you do this?
No thank you he passed on pitching a pivotal game in the playoffs he can stay in NY
Anything to get away from that clown organization LOL
Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner are gonna get blackout drunk together on 100 year old bottles of wine by the All Star break
That will be Peter seidler and Steve cohen. Hal doesn’t actually carry about anything other than the bottom line
Scherzer is a mercenary. He would play on the moon if you offered more money.
Why not? He’s already earned a ring and the money.
He wants to be on a team that will pay and get him a shot at another championship, so maybe the Dodgers come calling. Dodgers need pitching and he is a known quantity to them.
Dodgers are making a run at Ohtani after this year. No chance they have a $43 million Scherzer on the books for 2024.
He’s 38. His career is coming to a close. If I was in that situation I’d want to finish up with at least a chance at another ring.
Mets would be paying almost all of Scherzer’s salary in any deal, which is why a trade seems unlikely.
Maybe the Rangers double-down on deGrom’s injury if they’re desperate enough.
Idk man. There’s about 6-7 teams hungry for starting pitching and not a lot of great options.
No Fred. I am a Mercenary. ^^^ ^^^
First time in a long time I’ve seen the word “mercenary” applied to anything other than Wagner.
That’s also what I called my ex-wife recently. (Jk I don’t have an ex-wife…yet?)
Dodgers fans, we are going to make a run at Ohtani. Same fans that said, they were getting Harper. Same fans saying that they were getting Cole. The same fans who said, Seager isn’t going anywhere. There is no way the Dodgers are letting Tre Turner leave. The Dodgers will offer Ohtani a 4 year deal worth around 240 million. He will sign a 10 to 12 year deal somewhere else. Then those same fans, we don’t need him. Never wanted him anyways. I’m not going to say, that he will be on the Angels a year from now. I’m just laughing at how the Dodgers fans keep, thinking they are going to get every top FA. Other than Freeman, the Dodgers haven’t signed any FA to anything longer than a 4 year deal. Other than Freeman, they haven’t even offered a FA more than a 4 year deal.
Yeah tell them Angels! Their fans are so entitled unlike NY.
As a Dodger fan, this is the most logical take on the Dodgers FO. Unfortunately, most fans can’t comprehend this, even after seeing it time and time again
Ever heard of Mookie Betts big mouth Angels fan
Mookie didn’t reach Free Agency; he signed an extension after the Dodgers traded for him
Don’t bother with them. They’re the casuals. They don’t represent the best of us
@angelsfan4life
Ohtani isn’t most free agents
What are you smoking? I don’t recall most of us calling for Harper, we knew Turner was as good as gone, etc
Bitter Angels fans I tell ya
Why would you want your team to sign a player for more than 4-5 years? They never work out. Sure the Padres will be even more amazing in 5 years than they are now with all their decrepit shortstops fighting for DH spots.
angelsfan4life — Probably should add Mookie to that list, but I agree with the overall statement.
The Russian equivalent of the French Foreign Legion? Hardly mercenaries.
ChuckyNJ— And poor Honus was 126 years late in getting that kind of money, though he’d be worth it today. (PS-If you have his baseball card will trade you for a Pete Runnels).
wait,if anyone out there has a Honus Wagner card,I’ll give you a Jimmy Piersall AND a Pumpsie Green card,no negotiations necessary. if you throw in a Mickey Mantle rookie card I’ll give you a Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.(played 20 years in MLB for several teams).
As a Mets fan, I am very disappointed on this year.
Yankees aren’t much better if it makes you feel better. The season is hinging on the giant toe of Aaron Judge 🙂
wow, what a bold and enlightening statement that is.
Weird preposition to use here: “on this year.” It’s almost like you, and the Mets, sat on a toilet and took a …
Well, you get it. I think you meant “with.”
Most disappointing teams in the league? This is one of the most disappointing teams in the modern history of professional sports. The Mets payroll (including tax overages) accounts for 10% of the entire payroll of MLB. And they are one of the worst teams in the league. THAT is how expensive it is to get anyone to play there.
Depends. If you’re a non-Mets fan, this team did not disappoint. This is worse than anything the Wilpons ever did, and LOLMETS is back forever just when you thought it was going away. On the flipside, I feel so bad for Mets fans and I do my best not to laugh in front of them.
The Mets will have to eat a LOT of salary. They might as well keep him and hope he figures it put.
Scherzer got paid and now he wants out. Kind of lame.
I am laughing at this one. Who do they think is taking on that contract, even if he were healthy?
The reds. And they over pay so Mets eat the whole 14 million
@Big whiffa
Well Scherzer would still have to waive his no trade clause to go to the Reds.
Also the last couple years Scherzer has faded down the stretch of the season. Even having to miss a huge playoff start for the Dodgers. So it would be a huge gamble for any team to give up any sort of prospects for him.
On the bright side they’re lucky they didn’t bring back deGrom
@Reds
“Who do they think is taking on that contract, even if he…” Were allowed to use the sticky stuff. There. Fixed it for you.
LOL Mets
I wanted Texas to sign him at around 26 million a year… I’m glad they didn’t give him over a 50% premium. Also, for all the deGrom garbage from. Hey(man), take that! Lol mets
looks like the rats are starting to abandon ship
Mets downfall
You hate to see it!
Truely tragic.
What’s TRULY tragic is your spelling, truely isn’t a word. Go troll somewhere else
Don’t want him back
You missed a period at the end of your sentence. I’m just letting you know because you clearly contacted the grammar police, and it would be embarrassing if they caught your mistake too.
*if they caught your mistake, too.* 😉
He’s out of gas.
The honeymoon’s over already?
It all started when he “swore on his kid’s lives” that he didn’t use a foreign substance on his hand when he got suspended. That was when I knew the real Mets are back.
He must have sworn on his baseball life.
I SWEAR ON MY KIDS I’LL WAIVE MY NO TRADE CLAUSE
Giants
Unfounded rumors.
LOL
The chance that another team takes on Max’s contract for the rest of this year and pays him $43m in 2024 and 2025has as much chance of happening as the Angels trading Shohei Ohtani at the deadline.
Samuel — The Mets will have to pay down the contract if they want a shot at prospects with potential. No one is paying the annual as presently constituted.
Bring back Marv Throneberry
yo la tengo!
Rod Kanehl.
Mets, Padres and Cards just terrible
Wow, how shocking. I wonder why he wants to leave.
Wait! So Buck did it again? Just like he did with Britton in Baltimore against the Jays? Noooo way bro!!! Yeahhhh Buck is done. Once is bad, twice? Come on now.
BACK TO ESPN BUCKO
Gee, what a shock!
Wow! It had to be said.
I will also be open to waiving my no trade clause. I think my combination of incredibly low salary coupled with sub-mediocre pitching ability puts me on par with Scherzer, a combination of incredibly overinflated salary coupled with 3-4 starter results.
Both myself and Scherzer will not be responding to media inquiries at this time in order to concentrate on the season.
Your account name is amazing.
Thor for Max, garbage for really expensive garbage. Call it a day.
Angels. Contingent on him opting out at years end.
I don’t think Max is going to give up $43 million to get off this Mets team.
Cards send Matz, O’Neill, and Contreras to NY for Max and Narváez. Can O’Neill be traded if on 60 day IL?
Yes you can trade an IL player… but do the Mets really want TON?
Gwynning — Mets don’t need any of those players. Scherzer is still worth more.
I was thinking Contreras and DeJong for Scherzer but if they’d take Matz, even better. And didn’t Scherzer go to Mizzou and get drafted but unsigned by Cardinals?
Apparently they drafted him out of high school in ’03 but didn’t offer enough to make him pass on college. DeJong is not getting the option next year, so that only saves for a few months. Matz, O’Neill, and Contreras need a new start elsewhere.
@cardinalred I’d love that trade for the Mets but there is no way the Cardinals would do it
Why would Scherzer waive his NTC to go to another team that’s not in contention?
The Central is a weak division. they just need a hot streak like the 17 in a row way back in 2021. I mean, there would be no way that Contreras and Max both waive their NTC to make this pipe dream happen…it just looked like a good trade for both teams imo, so I shared it with you! You’re welcome.
Never share anything with me again under any circumstances.
Lol
Do it, the Angels!
Trade Hinch to the Mets.
Avisail Garcia, Jean Segura, Bryan Hoeing, Jt Chargois/Dylan Floro, Jose Devers, Cody Morissette for Justin Verlander
While you’re at it, tell Eppler I’m selling my discarded banana peels and empty pizza boxes for $200…
Way less money for the Mets, usable pieces. 2 big league arms, 2 middle infield prospects in AA. Mets can get rid of Segura, and then use the difference in FA next year
I don’t think the Mets are worried about payroll savings. You’re also talking 5, 6 spots for the 26 & 40. No chance something like this happens, and for JV at that. Epp could get better returns with basically any other buyer.
It’s only 2 spots. Garcia is on the 60 day, you dump Segura, and the 2 pitchers grab spots
That’s an absurdly low and convoluted offer that the Mets would laugh at.
Way less money for the Mets, usable pieces.
========================
The Mets would have no interest in any of those players except BP depth pieces in Floro and Hoeing.
And if the Mets were willing to throw in the $40M that would be owed to Garcia & Segura, they could land a heck of a lot better deal.
Theyd also be sending out exponentially more money…
In terms of negative value, both sides are relatively equal
Good talk formerlyz. Were you previously “formerdraftpick?” Maybe on paper there is “equitable negative value” but, as usual, an element of realism must be applied. The Mets don’t seem to be concerned about the salaries. In fact, I’d venture to say they’d rather pay for everything and buy prospects. I do NOT speak for the franchise or their fans, just applying realism (and yes, massive amounts of speculation) to the equation.
Here’s a whole bunch of players. None of them help your team, but it’s a whole bunch of them.
His arm will be tired by the postseason either way
Steve Cohen’s liver has got to be tired too after watching all of those Mets games
@R.D. It was an extraordinary offseason for the Mets. As if the FO thought, “How can we build a team that MUST fail? That even if it gets to the postseason the ancient roster and pitching will be so gassed it can’t get out of the second round no matter what?”
Depends on what the Mets can get for him ? Just like the Brooklyn Nets they tried but failed , keep some, trade some for the best offers they can get. Can the Mets and Yanks make a deal ? Scherzer for Clarke-Schimdt, King and they’ll take on Donaldson and then cut him. Trade Verlander in a 3 team trade. Verlander to LAD, L.Robert, Giolitto and Dustin May to the Mets Prospects to Chi W.Sox. Trade Marte to whoever needs him and Mets pay part of his contract.
Sorry, me laughing at your proposal seems to not have come through. It’s not MLB The Show, Mets aren’t getting near that much for Verlander.
*anything
LOLMets
At least they don’t have to worry about blowing a late season 1st place division lead by coughing it up to the Braves and choking in the Wild Card game like last year!
Scherzer never wanted to be a Met, he came for the monet. Back in 2021, he said that he did not want to be traded here. I remember that when I went to the game last year, the fans were cheering and chanting his name in warmups. You know what Scherzer did? He let out a big yawn and ignored the fans, then proceeded to job backwards. If he was on say, the Cardinals, he’d be interacting with the fans and being nice to them. Him and Verlander both only came for the money. They hate it here. Problem is, these guys make too much money. Why would anyone trade for these guys just to pay them 40 million next year? No other team was offering them this type of money in the first place. Thats what happens when you overpay for 40 year olds. Fire Eppler
Eppler doesn’t sign the checks.
@YankeesBleacherCreature I actually agree with you that the Scherzer/Verlander signings were more of an impulse buy on Steve Cohen. With that being said, as the GM Eppler is supposed to advice Cohen. The fact that he just did whatever Steve Cohen said and threw millions at these guys partially makes Eppler at fault
What are you going to do? You do what the boss says or quit. Cohen took a gamble and it hasn’t paid its dividends. The man has made a fortune gambling and has plenty more money. He’s also banking on getting a NYC casino license which will turn into a guaranteed long-term win if he gets one. What better way to gain popularity and legitimacy than to bring the Mets a championship (with money)? Or would you prefer having the Wilpons run the org?
And relax. Somebody told Max that they were writing a Mets trade deadline story and asked him if he was willing to waive his NTC. He casually said yes being one never to mince his words. Now we have media running off with his reply and he couldn’t care less.
hasn’t been the same pitcher once he got caught using the sticky stuff
Say the Mets ate his entire contract, for 2023 and 2024. What do teams think they’d be getting, and what level of prospects would they be willing to deal, to get an effectively free starter who projects to give you about 60 more innings this season, and 115 innings next year, with a roughly league average ERA. That’s worth, what, about $14m?
That sort of performance is hardly worth a premium prospect. Assuming you can go out and buy 115 league average innings next year for something like $9m (Scherzer is hardly a rarity at this point in his career), the only bonus is being able to add 60 league average innings this season, prior to the deadline.
He wouldn’t be a bad pickup for the Dodgers–and they shouldn’t have to give up much more than their… #8 or #9 prospect.
—-btw, that the Mets dealt Escobar for other than an overpriced but respectably talented middle reliever some sub-.500 team wanted to unload, was simply bizarre.
The article makes it clear that the Mets would have to eat a ton of money Max is owed. I was confused by the sentence that said Max would be forfeiting the largest salary in MLB history if he waved his no trade clause and then goes on to note the Mets would have to pay off someone to take on his contract for this and next season. It’s late so prob just a little goof.
MetsFan22 rollin’ over in his grave
They should trade Scherzer. If he doesn’t opt out it means he is producing at a level where they would have to pay to get rid of him. And if he does opt out they can bring him back next winter.
You do realize he can only opt out after this season is over? Either they trade him, with his approval, or keep him. There’s zero chance he opts out. No one with a working brain wants to pay a 41 year old pitcher $43.33m for the 2024 campaign. If he did opt out how could he make more than he’s currently owed? No one is signing him for 2 years at $25m per season.
Then why not trade him? Why not trade a negative trade value guy for actual prospect value if you can?
That he changed his name on here to another team a while ago. Not hard to figure out which poster is which.
Meh Mets and Padres match up in a change of scene trade, contract wise.
What kind of trade do you have in mind?
Lindor for Bogaerts and a prospect
Everyone saying nobody would take Scherzers contract. YES they would! He’s Max flipping Scherzer. But the Mets will probably eat lots of it. Still not convinced Mets are totally out of it. Weak NL. Shouldn’t have even traded Escobar yet. Just wait a couple more weeks. What’s the harm? But when will these teams learn that the team that is thrown together isnt the same as the team that has grown together. Yea. I just coined that.
The problem I have is finally a team spends this much money to win and people are so against the team because they underperform. I want to applaud teams for spending money, not gang up on them. In fact I would go so far as to say some of the negative publicity pile on they are getting may be because other owners are against that kind of spending. It makes them look bad. They had a bad end to 2022 and tried harder to build a winner. I love that. It wasn’t the best offseason for it tho I think
I was brought up on the rule that it is foolish to throw money at problems. It’s as if the Mets are trading baseball cards.
I think the short term deals are good because they won 100 last year. I know they wanna rebuild the system/development more but basically all these teams have the money to spend if they want to. Buying short term is great because if it didn’t work they can eat the money and get prospects if the players are healthy. I love Nimmo but it’s those kind of contracts and Diaz that are questionable to me.
A 100 win team was not a problem to begin with.
Unless they are willing to eat a big portion of that contract, I am afraid the Mets are stuck with Scherzer.
Lol but they are still gonna be better than the Braves.
You’re are the highest paid leader of the team with the games highest level of expectation, and when they are scuffling and under the most pressure, you let it be known that you are happy to be traded.
Max is one unique individual.
Max Schezer did that in Detroit too. He is the only player Mike Illich broke off talks with.
If the Mets send a ton of money which they’d obviously have to do, he’d be a good get for the Orioles. Auto opt-in for 2024, and the Mets pay the rest of this year’s salary and next year down to about $20-25mm. O’s could send one of their less-touted young infielders as a headliner and a minor league arm. Would be useful for the Wild Card series to have a vet TOR guy, even if he’s falling off a bit.
Ok, the Mets want one of their less-touted young infielders lol, no thanks and finish paying Scherzers deal this year lol, don’t have to pay anything for next year since he can opt out and go elsewhere
@jvent if they want anything of value, Scherzer would have to opt-in for 2024 now, and they’d have to eat some salary for this year and next. But in the Orioles case, a guy with Scherzers floor would still cost someone like Joey Ortiz and a young arm. Even when he’s struggling, his floor is a solid #3.
In what universe do you see Scherzer opting out of $43M next year? (The Mets are going to have to pay down this year and next to whomever is interested.) I could see the Giants showing interest
New regime, same old Mets. Players go to die there with big contracts. There’s been so many, Delgado, Vaughn, Beltran, Santana, Scherzer, and I’m sure Verlander will eventually join this list. Teams need to stop opening their checkbook for aging players.
Bobby B
The Mets bought it; the Mets live with it.
Guy’s washed up since he can’t use sticky-stuff anymore. MLB is full of cheaters. What a clown.
I thought my Red Sox were bad but Mets have a way worse situation on their hands. You can’t blame Bloom for giving out cheap contracts when the Mets’ big contracts have imploded the whole team
Ain’t so much the big contracts as the ability to LOL in a key moment.
Even Ted Dibiase couldn’t buy the WWF championship.
You were watching dark side of the ring last night weren’t you. Was a good episode about Junkyard dog and most of the interviews were with his best friend Ted the Million Dollar Man DiBiase
No. I didn’t actually. I’ll have to check it out.
He’s just a mercenary at this point. Gun for hire
lol Mets.
If the Mets were smart they would call team’s interested in Scherzer to get the best deal since he can opt out after the season than they get nothing like Wheeler, Reyes and others signing with other teams instead of us trading them.
Scherzer for Rendon straight up
At least they can still rely on Lindor. lol
I read that Mets owner allows Francisco Lindor to “advise” him on personnel moves.
$43M a year and he goes for more? Where does the greed stop?
No surprise here. Verlander will follow suit. These dudes want to be on Contenders. Sorry y’all but the Mets Gonna Met! Chop on!
@b nc,
I believe the correct spelling is ‘yous’; i.e., “Sorry yous but the Mets…”
As a Braves fan, Cohen’s initial tenure reminds me of Ted Turner’s early ownership period. It took some time for Turner to figure out that he could not run baseball operations (or manage — not an issue anymore) as well as professional MLB operations personnel. Once he found the right front office people and kept spending his cash, the Braves delivered an unprecedented run of playoff teams. I expect Cohen will figure this out more quickly than Turner did. Once that happens, the Mets will be a force in the NL. As a Braves fan, the nightmare is Dave Dombrowski with no spending limit running the Mets.
@farscott
With the potential future plans of MLB expanding and realigning by region, by the time Cohen figures something out like you say, very likely your Braves and my Marlins will be in a Southeastern division with the Rays and an expansion team in New Orleans or North Carolina, so the Mets would be the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays or Phillies problem in their Northeastern division.
I love reading comments from Met haters.
“Who would trade for Scherzer’s contract?”
Everyone besides the A’s, Royals, Rays and Pirates…..
The ignorant comments from people here are sometimes astounding. Try peeking out of your basement once in a while and understand that sports is a business. Every MLB owner would gladly drop the prospects if it drastically improved their chances at a WS title. Stop kidding yourself that owners have morals, or loyalty to the fan base.
Some days, this site becomes no different than the trolls on Fox News or CNN. Educate yourselves on reality, not what you HOPE is real.
“Who would trade for Scherzer’s contract?”
Everyone besides the A’s, Royals, Rays and Pirates…..
=============================
Pretty much nonsense. Why would the RS, for example, trade for him? They might be a week away from a sell-off. Same with a lot of teams.
In fact, just the fact that you think the Mets would be interested in trading him almost automatically means every team in a similar situation or worse would, by default, have no interest in him.
And beyond the 10-11 teams that are likely out of contention, there are maybe 6 teams that don’t have the payroll for it. And beyond those 16-17 teams, there are 2-3 more that have no issues with their rotations.
You need to educate yourself on the reasons why a team might want a $43.3M SP with a 3.95/4.12 ERA/FIP.
No one is paying full freight on that contract. To suggest otherwise is insane and to believe it you would also have to believe that there were other teams in the offseason when he signed it bidding against the Mets with similar deals.
if an owner does something that drastically increases the chance of winning a title, how is that disloyal to the fans?
Go ahead and deal for Scherzer. He will come up with a dead arm for the biggest game of the year.
He wants to go a contender so he can wimp out of pitching game six of the NLCS.
I have to imagine he wouldn’t cost a lot – if the mets think they are going to get anything of value for the size of that contract + a looming opt out they would be sadly mistaken. I could see a team with pay to burn like the giants, dodgers, yankees taking hom on but likely they would need to attach a prospect to get anything back at all
I don’t see it either. The only way to get a prospect would be to add a lot of money, and that could be said about almost any player. And this is basic BB101 logic, but if Scherzer was really valuable, then why would the NYMs trade him (which they shouldn’t)?
Because he has an opt-out and this clearly isn’t their year. Same reason any good rental player ever gets traded.
Dippin out I see.
Translation, “I don’t believe in this train wreck of a team this season nor do I believe they have the talent to correct themselves for next”
I”m not sure Ohtani gets 500 MM. His extreme value is due to him being a Pitcher and Batter. As hard as he throws, how long will he remain a Top of the Rotation Ace. If he can’t Pitch due to injury all you’re left with is a DH and that only depends if he can still hit even if he can’t Pitch. If a Pitching Injury side lines him and leaves him unable to Bat, then you are Stuck.
Just a Thought
Everybody wants to play in New York!
– NY Fans and NY Beat Writers
the only waiving Max should be open to is waiving goodbye to the game of baseball.
He’s “fragitta”
Why should he? He’s gettin’ paaaaaid!
Remember how Albert “Joey” Belle retired like 3 or 4 years after he played his last game before his career-ending injury? He made sure that last check cleared before he made it official. Scherzer can do the same.
I know, but if he is going to take the money and provide a diminishing return he should at least be known henceforth as Mini Scherzer, not Max.
With this news, is it time for people to start suggesting stupid trades?
I think I’ll start combing other teams’ rosters for studs and start combing the Marlins organizational depth chart for all the guys that we don’t want so I can start making trade suggestions.
Oh yeah, and I have to come up with some dumb ash delusional reasons why my trade suggestions will make sense.
Meanwhile should start the sentence, it can’t be in the middle
Scherzer turns 39 on July 27. He’s not a “cheater” (like some moron said above) and he still has game. He would be a help to any team in need. But if the Mets don’t pick up his salary, then they are stuck with him and oughta try to keep on winning. Ditto Verlander. Still has upside.
Of course he is, the Mets are terrible. He wants to win