Once again, the student becomes the master.
On Friday, New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler announced his arrival in Queens by signing three free agents, including outfielder Starling Marte, who had been on the radar of New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
Eppler, as you may remember, studied under Cashman before heading to the Los Angeles Angels in 2015.
On Monday, Eppler is poised to pluck another free-agent target under consideration by Cashman.
UPDATE (12:44 p.m.): SNY’s Andy Martino reports “Source: Mets in agreement with Scherzer. Done deal. Source: 3 years, $130 mil, opt out after two years.”
UPDATE (12:15 p.m.): ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports “If Max Scherzer’s deal gets done as the Mets expect, the average annual value will be somewhere in the range of $43 million a year — a staggering jump of nearly 20% from the current record AAV of $36 million held by Gerrit Cole. It is a huge number, especially for a 37-year-old.”
UPDATE (12:03 p.m.): MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports “Max Scherzer and the Mets are finalizing $130M, 3-year deal. Minor details to go only. Once completed, Scherzer deal will give the Mets a historically good one-two punch, with Jake deGrom. Mets not messing around.”
UPDATE (11:49 a.m.): SNY’s Andy Martino reports that per a source, “Mets are close to a deal for Max Scherzer. Mets were waiting overnight, talks resumed a little more than an hour ago, now an agreement is near.”
UPDATE (10:58 a.m.): The New York Post’s Joel Sherman “Heard the #Mets offer to Scherzer is in the 3-yr, $129M range — or about $43M on average per season.”
UPDATE (10:55 a.m.): SNY’s Andy Martino reports that according to sources, “Mets and Scherzer now re-engaged, negotiations coming to a head.”
UPDATE (9:52 a.m.): The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports the “#Mets are in a holding pattern with Scherzer. Have made what is perceived to be top offer. And there has mainly been radio silence after momentum. Is that reflection period before a yes or cold feet/contemplation and heading elsewhere? Decision is expected today.”
“My perception (and it is PERCEPTION): #Mets have top bid on Scherzer and top bid is always hard to walk away from, especially by someone as indentified with the union especially with tough labor negotiations ongoing. #Dodgers trying to stick to their discipline and not offer more than 2 years. Beware the #Angels. They lost Cole to the #Yankees by, among other things, not going the extra year. Their offseason SP isn’t really going to be Syndergaard/Lorenzen, is it? Do they try to maximize Ohtani/Trout by going all out here? It would mean the kind of payroll that ownership has not previously permitted. Will it permit that here? It will be interesting to hear Scherzer ultimately on what fueled his decision.”
UPDATE (8:48 a.m.): MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports “While Mets have already checked out and approved of Max Scherzer’s medicals (and other teams may have too), Mets remain in wait mode on their top target.”
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports “Max Scherzer and the #Mets are close to finalizing a multiyear deal, source confirms.”
SNY’s Andy Martino reports “According to two sources, the Mets offer is for about 42 million per year over either 3 or 4 years.” Martino also reports “The Yankees are not involved on Scherzer.”
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports “The winner of the Max Scherzer sweepstakes is expected to be determined no later than tomorrow (Monday) and the #Mets think they have a shot.”
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports the “Mets seem heartened and hopeful about the prospects of landing Max Scherzer. Dodgers pessimistic, at least at the moment.”
The 37-year-old Scherzer is an eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner. He finished third in National League Cy Young voting in 2021, splitting the season between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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