Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY
This offseason, we’re looking at the Mets’ history with free agency: their best uses of money and their worst. The latest was a third baseman who delivered a terrific debut season capped by one of the greatest moments in franchise history. Now comes the shocking free-agent landing of 2021 that should have reverberations for years to come.
The prevailing narrative was “nobody wants to join the Mets.” It was loudest when the team went through an endless stream of candidates to fill their top front office position. It persisted when Steven Matz and his agent seemed to use his former team as leverage to get a better deal with the Cardinals (which in retrospect might have been for the best).
Even picking up Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha, and Starling Marte in a Black Friday shopping spree wouldn’t have quieted critics who expected the richest owner in the majors to go after and obtain the biggest names on the free-agent market.
Then they took it to the Max—one year and one day ago.
In the span of about 48 hours, the prospects of landing the three-time Cy Young Award Winner went from nil to hopeful to reality. The signing of Scherzer to the highest annual value contract in baseball history—at three years and $130 million—defied conventional wisdom for Mets fans. More so, it re-aligned the compass for what the Steve Cohen regime brings: lots of money and a win-now commitment. It at once raised the club’s ceiling and reputation around the league.
Even at age 37, Scherzer was among the best in the game—coming off a stellar season with the Nationals and Dodgers. He was a respected superstar with an intensity unmatched by any pitcher or any player. Almost instantly, the culture within the New York clubhouse changed.
Max’s presence on the mound was not as consistent as he or anyone involved with the Mets would’ve preferred. He missed a total of nine weeks with injuries to his left side—a strained oblique in mid-May that took him out of action for 47 days and more pain that sidelined him for 15 days in September. Nonetheless, Scherzer compiled the third-best ERA (2.29) and ERA+ (169), and the fifth-highest bWAR.
Scherzer opened the 2022 season as the de facto ace while deGrom was on the IL and more than satisfied expectations. Over his first eight starts, Scherzer compiled an ERA of 2.54 and held opponents to a batting average of .203 before pulling himself in a May 18 outing versus St. Louis.
He returned in early July and did not miss a beat. Actually, he got better. Scherzer delivered superb performances against the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees. His July ERA was a scant 1.39 and he struck out 12.9 batters per nine innings. This level of excellence was maintained once deGrom returned to the rotation as the Mets battled for the division and zeroed in on more than 100 victories.
Scherzer came back from his second IL stint with a flourish—tossing six perfect innings in Milwaukee as the Mets clinched their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Big-money pitchers are paid highly to deliver in crucial games. In his two most important starts of the season, the biggest-money pitcher in baseball did not deliver. Scherzer struggled against the Braves with the NL East at stake and was even worse in the postseason opener—surrendering four homers and seven earned runs to the Padres at Citi Field.
The unsatisfying ending to an otherwise superb first season in New York puts his Mets legacy in a holding pattern. At this point, it’s difficult to fully gauge where Scherzer’s signing ranks in club history. What we know is that it completely changed that lingering franchise narrative, especially when it came to the free agent market. All signs say it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
