Ten years ago today, the Nationals signed Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million contract. Although it seemed like a lot of money at the time, the deal was a huge success and made Scherzer arguably the best national player of all time.
In his final two years as a Tiger, Max Scherzer went from a solid young pitcher to a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher. After winning the award in 2013, Scherzer also finished in the top five in 2014, which was a year of walks. rear Declined large six-year contract worth $144 million In order to remain in Detroit, Scherzer planned to hit the open market.
In the end, the Nationals swooped in to acquire Scherzer, giving him the second-richest contract in history for a pitcher. At the time, this deal was ridiculed and ridiculed. In a survey of executives, Scherzer said: worst free agent contract of the off-season. Ted Lerner made a very risky decision, but it paid off in the end. This is something the rest of his family should be aware of.
Scherzer’s first season was a huge success. He also won a top-five Cy Young Award and threw two no-hitters, one of which would have been a perfect game had Jose Tabata had some class.
That was just the beginning of his legendary Nats run. From 2015 to 2019, Scherzer averaged He pitched 210 innings this season, with an ERA of 2.74, 79 wins and 39 losses, a sub-1 WHIP, and a K/9 of 11.7. He won the Cy Young Award twice and finished in the top five every season. Most importantly, he was a major contributor to the Nationals’ first-ever World Series in 2019, and was called up to help make it happen.
Scherzer was the most dominant player in team history and my favorite player of all time. Not bad for the worst free agent signing. Signing Max Scherzer offers a valuable lesson. If you don’t take risks, you won’t get the maximum return. Since Ted Lerner stepped away from baseball operations, big, risky moves have become fewer and fewer. You don’t want to make bad contracts a habit, but taking risks on big-time talent is a big part of winning championships.
The Nationals need to make a move like Max Scherzer to add to their promising young core. The reality is that young players alone won’t be enough to defeat the National League giants. We need to learn from the Max Scherzer deal. In some cases, the “worst free agent contract” can become the best contract of all time if it goes to the right person.
