Scherzer going into free agency at 40 off most frustrating season and expects to pitch healthy again

Published Sep. 22, 2024 2:42 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Max Scherzer is going home and into free agency after what the three-time Cy Young Award winner considers the most frustrating of his 17 seasons in the big leagues.

Still at age 40, and finishing a year with the Texas Rangers in which he made his fewest starts since being a rookie, Scherzer said Sunday that he looks forward to having a normal offseason and expects to pitch again next season.

“I still believe I can pitch at a high level here. There’s nothing stopping me from doing that. Just right now my body’s not fully cooperating,” Scherzer said before the Rangers played their final home game. “But if I can properly address everything that’s been going on and learn from what is going on with my body right now, I can be better next year for it with a full offseason.”

The right-hander was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday because of a strained left hamstring and put on the 15-day injured list, which ended his season with the reigning World Series champions already out of playoff contention. He was 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in nine starts, his fewest since seven as a rookie with Arizona in 2008.

His debut this season didn't come until June 23, which was his first start for the Rangers since Game 3 of the World Series at Arizona that he exited after three scoreless innings because of back tightness. He had surgery in mid-December to repair a herniated disk in his lower back, then during his rehab dealt with a nerve issue that was diagnosed after he experienced right thumb soreness.

“The only good news is now I can go in the offseason healthy. You know, my back’s good, my arm’s good. The real serious things that you need to think about and talk about are actually in a good spot,” he said. “I really feel like if I get a full offseason to actually train and do what I do in the offseason, that’s going to matter. Now when you reflect upon this year, I didn’t have an offseason, wasn’t able to do anything. ... I'm a believer that, you give me a full offseason, I think things will definitely be different and I’ll definitely be a lot more healthier next year.”

While Scherzer said he would like to remain with the Rangers, it seems unlikely that they will try to re-sign him after having to pay only a portion of his salary this season. He said he wasn't going on their final road trip, and instead headed home to Florida to get his kids back in school a week earlier there.

The last time the eight-time All-Star was a free agent, he got a $130 million, three-year deal from the Mets before the 2022 season. Scherzer was traded to Texas at the deadline last summer after he agreed to opt in on that final year for this season at $43.3 million, and New York paid $30.83 million of that total.

When Scherzer was a free agent the first time, he signed a $210 million, seven-year contract with Washington before the 2015 season, and was part of the Nationals’ only World Series title in 2019. He was in the final season of that deal when traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline, then signed with the Mets that offseason.

Scherzer has a 216-112 record in his 466 big league games, and is 11th on the MLB career list with 3,407 strikeouts in 2,878 career innings. Only former teammate Justin Verlander with 3,411 strikeouts has more among active pitchers.

After getting traded to Texas last year, Scherzer was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder.

“Won a World Series here, get along with guys in here, we have a great clubhouse," Scherzer said. "But I also know when you’re a free agent, you know, I’ve been in free agency two other times in my career. I get how this goes. I’ve seen how things go and I’m realistic about it. So you’ve just got to let that take care of itself.”

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