What Boras really meant On June 25, NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reported that Max Scherzer would require a contract extension to waive his full no-trade protection, quoting the pitcher’s agent, Scott Boras, as saying, “The reality of it is it’s going to have to lead to something.” Boras, however, told The Washington Post three days later, “When players are traded, and you refer to contract amendments, it does not necessarily mean an extension.” He reiterated that stance with The Athletic on Thursday, saying that tax adjustments, moving expenses and other amenities are far more likely to be part of such a conversation than an extension. With a potential free agent such as Scherzer, Boras would prefer to negotiate on the open market rather than with just one team. It remains uncertain Scherzer will even become available in trade; the Nationals, under general manager Mike Rizzo, historically do not concede. But at 45-50, the team is six games back in the NL East, and its playoff odds, according to FanGraphs, are down to 3.4 percent. A sudden willingness to trade Scherzer would dramatically alter the landscape of the trade market, electrifying the sport. The return the Nationals receive for Scherzer presumably would be strong, and could help entice him to re-sign with the team as a free agent. Scherzer, 36, would not be subject to a qualifying offer, so the Nats would not lose a draft pick for re-signing him. He effectively would be following the path Aroldis Chapman took in 2016 when he re-signed with the Yankees after they traded him to the Cubs at the deadline. — Ken Rosenthal (Thursday)
why do you think the chances are relatively high? And what do you think such a trade/extension would look like?
I don’t think it’ll come with an extension. Scherzer will get some kind of trade bonus. But I think there are probably only 4-5 teams who will be involved, and Scherzer will likely only approve a trade to one of the true contenders. My guess is that the Dodgers, White Sox, Padres, Red Sox, and Astros will be the teams vying for him, and I think Houston has a slightly better than average chance of that group.
Didn’t go to the Luhnow/Biggio class of speaking in cliches and circumventing. But yes, he’s been all but saying that they need to make a move… and it will likely be a big one. He also said he’s probably discussed over 100 trade offers, slowed down during the draft, but conversations resumed right after. This is his first big league GM job. All great GM’s have their hands in everything (player development, draft, free agent signings, contract extensions, trades), but some GM’s have a unique niche in one or two aspects that really helps them stand out. So far, Click hasn’t really put his stamp on one particular aspect, but he seems to be on the cusp of something.
I'm being a little cynical here, but I have read reports that the Padres, Astros, and Phillies are all willing to exceed the luxury tax at the deadline. I wonder if there isn't some pressure to show that the tax isn't a an obstacle to spending before the new CBA negotiations. It doesn't even require paying more money to players, just shifting the team that is paying it. With Scherzer's contract the way it is, they might be able to move up some portion of his deferred salary so that he isn't waiving the no trade clause for nothing.
I don't think Scherzer and especially the Nats will want to trade Scherzer within the division. The Nats owner is intensively competitive (one of the few owners a competitive as Crane) and is loathe to concede, and trading Scherzer to the Mets or Phillies would just be salt on the wound. They will be able to extract a good value from one of the other acceptable teams. If I'm handicapping, roughly: Astros 25% Padres 25% Dodgers 15% White Sox 10% Red Sox 10% Other 15%
Yeah, they seem like they'd be more interested in relievers like Kimbrel. Your percentages seem fairly solid assuming they do trade him. I could just see the narrative of several teams going over at the deadline being used to prove that teams are willing to spend, without having to pay the players any extra.
Obviously it would be awesome to land Scherzer, but I am also happy to hear the Nats are sellers because they have some bullpen arms as well. More arms available the better.... I also think Strasburg having another setback in his rehab pushed them over the cliff to become sellers.
I could see NYY trading for Max. They really need to make a move. Their trash fans, pun intended, are turning on them. Lots of pressure in NY exacerbated by their meh results to date. BOS coming out of nowhere this season has been an interesting development, and NYM play this season doesn’t help, either. NYY is 4.5 back in WC and 9 back in their division. Hate to see it
The Yankees only have about a 1/3 chance of even making the playoffs, so I doubt Scherzer would approve a trade there.
Sounds like he should come over to an AL club where he doesn't have to worry about hitting the rest of this season.
I wonder if the Nats would consider trading Trea Turner, who is a free agent after next season. Astros get: SS/CF Trea Turner SP Max Scherzer RP Daniel Hudson Nationals get: RHP Cristian Javier SS/CF Pedro Leon RHP Hunter Brown OF Chas McCormick 3B Joe Perez RHP Josh James Megadeals like that are incredibly rare, for good reason. And I wouldn’t really want Houston to do that deal because I am too optimistic about Pedro Leon. But I think that deal is fair value and would be a smart deal for the Nats, who aside from Soto don’t have any controllable core pieces. If they don’t do some kind of significant rebuild, they will be mediocre for a long time. Turner gives Houston one of the deepest lineups in MLB history and solves their SS problem for next season, and Scherzer gives them an intimidating ace for the playoffs. Hudson has been a very effective RP and will help bridge the gap to Pressly. Adding Scherzer moves Garcia and Urquidy to the bullpen which gives them 6 excellent arms in relief (Urquidy, Garcia, Raley, Baez, Hudson, and Pressly); Pruitt, Smith, and Stanek would be low leverage arms. Like I said, I wouldn’t really want to give up Leon because I feel pretty confident he will be an above average major leaguer and has elite ceiling. But what an exciting roster that would be.
