Although the Los Angeles Dodgers were often considered the favorites to re-sign Max Scherzer at various points in free agency, the New York Mets were the ones who were able to get the deal done.
Scherzer signed a three-year contract worth $130 million, which broke the record for largest average annual value to a player at $43.3 million and he is the oldest to sign a contract worth at least $100 million.
Aside from the significant financial reasons, Scherzer said he was impressed by the Mets’ commitment to building a winning team as they have already made three other significant acquisitions this offseason in adding Starling Marte, Mark Cahna and Eduardo Escobar as well.
“I think there were several factors that went into my decision. First, when I took the Zoom call with Steve and Billy, Steve said, ‘It’s whatever it takes to win here,'” Scherzer said. “He looks at this as he wants to win a championship and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win. You don’t hear that from owners too often these days. When you hear an owner wants to do whatever it takes to win, that obviously piqued my interest.
“When you look at the team, pitching with Jake is an obvious thing I saw. And additionally, the guys I know, Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier, when I played with him on the Nats, he raved about how awesome Escobar is. I don’t know him, but if you’re cool by Dozier, you’re cool by me.”
While it was reported that Scherzer preferred to live on the West Coast, he and his family live in Florida, which is where the Mets’ Port St. Luice Spring Training facility is located, so it was another added benefit for the future Hall of Famer to join the Mets.
“And honestly one of the biggest things in this whole calculus was I live in Jupiter, Florida, and my girls are now going to be in school,” Scherzer explained. “By playing in New York, Spring Training is right in my backyard and it makes it real easy to still see my kids at a pretty high rate.
“Moving to the West Coast was going to present a real challenge for them. At this point in my career, you put all those things together and that’s when I decided I was going to be a New York Met.”
Dodgers unwilling to guarantee third year for Scherzer
The 37-year-old also received a guaranteed third year in the contract from the Mets, which was something he wanted in any contract.
The Dodgers reportedly were unwilling to do that, which ultimately might have cost them the opportunity to re-sign him. It’s also presumed uncertainty with Trevor Bauer was a factor in L.A. exercising some financial restraint.
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