This Max Scherzer rumor is bad news for the Phillies

Max Scherzer is close to signing with the New York Mets, several sources report

The New York Mets need to be stopped. Or rather, the Philadelphia Phillies need to get started.

While the Phillies front office is doing lord knows what, the Mets went out and spent big on Black Friday. They grabbed Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha, and Starling Marte, all in one day.

And they’re not even close to done, as there’s still quite a bit of pitching to build out now that Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup are in Anaheim, Steven Matz chose to leave for the Cardinals rather than return to Queens, and Marcus Stroman doesn’t see the Mets bringing him back in 2022.

The latest report is that the Mets are close to a multi-year deal with the one and only Max Scherzer.

Scherzer has a lifetime 3.16 ERA over 407 career games between the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Nationals, and Dodgers. In 2021, he became a member of the elite 3,000 strikeout club.

At 37 years old, Scherzer isn’t showing many signs of slowing down, hence the reported four-year deal he’s about to get. He isn’t pitching as many innings per season as he used to, but he’s still a commanding force. His 2.46 ERA this past season is actually the lowest of any season in his 14-year career, and his best since 2017, and his 30 starts were his most since 2018.

Scherzer returning to the NL East is bad news for the Phillies; he has a 2.50 ERA over 25 career starts against them, and Phillies batters hit a measly .204/.265/.341 with a .606 OPS against him. The three-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher pitched for the Washington Nationals from 2015 until his midseason trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021. If this signing comes to fruition, he will join Jacob deGrom in the Mets rotation; they have a combined five Cy Young awards between them.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have yet to make a significant move. They’ve acquired catcher Garrett Stubbs via trade and claimed pitcher Kent Emanuel off waivers, but thus far, no blockbuster free-agent signing or trade has made waves.

Update: Max Scherzer to sign massive deal with New York Mets

12:05 PM ET: Jon Heyman reports that the Mets are finalizing a deal that would bring Max Scherzer to New York for three years, and pay him $130M.