Scherzer signing shows win now attitude of Nats
Today MLB.com headed that the Washington Nationals signed RHP Max Scherzer to a seven year deal. The club has not confirmed the deal yet and no amounts were disclosed but according to Forbes.com it will be more than $180 million.
Aparently Scherzer knew before that he would be 37 when his new contract will end. 😉
Scherzer, 30, had an 18-5 season in 2014 with a 3.03 ERA and 252 strikeouts. Not too shabby, I must admit. But…. like I stated before, with a four pitch arsenal (95 MPH fastball, 86 MPH slider, 85 MPH changeup and a 79 MPH curveball) he relies on his fastball most of the time. Many pitchers that relied on their fastball most of the time, ended on the DL last year. Besides that he will be 37 by the time his contract ends. Will he be able to keep up the numbers that posted in his years with the Tigers?
The Nationals already had quite a rotation with Jordan Zimmermann, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister, and Tanner Roark. This may mean that they will trade one of the following pitchers away: Jordan Zimmermann or Doug Fister (both will be free agents after the 2015 season) or Tanner Roark because he his the least good pitcher. It will all depend on the position of the Nats in the standings in August or September. Will they be out of contention they will trade away Zimmermann and/or Fister for sure. If they are still running for first place or a play off spot, they would be crazy to let one of them or both go.
That seven year contract may become a burden for the Nats when it nears the end. Especially when Scherzer cannot keep up the numbers that he had in the past five seasons. When he will be bothered by a severe injury, the contract will be a albatross.
Probably Scott Boras held a nice sales pitch that won the Nationals over. Of course he will have told them the positive things about signing Scherzer; he will get his share of every dollar that he can add to a contract.
Anyway, this signing shows once again that the Nationals have adopted a “win it now” mentality. Short term success instead of patience.
We will see if they have made the right decision in October.