Mets players are stunned, confused after trade of Max Scherzer
New York Mets designated hitter Pete Alonso returns to the dugout after he grounded out to end the third inning against the Washington Nationals in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
If the Thursday trade of David Robertson to the Marlins didn’t communicate that the Mets are punting on the 2023 season, Saturday’s deal sending Max Scherzer to the Rangers surely did. Francisco Lindor said he anticipates there will be more departures from the clubhouse and Brandon Nimmo said, “As far as this year is concerned, we’re getting rid of some guys.”
The Scherzer deal introduces an even greater concern for the Mets: the 2024 season.
The $130 million contract Scherzer signed with the Mets before the 2022 season would have kept him in Queens through the 2024 season. After the Robertson trade, future Hall of Famer Scherzer made it clear on Friday night that he wanted to understand the direction of the team. One day later, he waived the no-trade clause in his contract to accept the move to Texas.
Asked what this means for 2024, Pete Alonso said, “I am sure there’s implications. Right now I am just perplexed about the Max trade. I don’t know what it means for the future.”
Lindor, who is signed through 2031, said he spoke with general manager Billy Eppler about the direction of the club after the Robertson and Scherzer trades came together.
“I don’t call it a rebuild — I call it a transition that we are in,” he said. “I’m here for a long time. I’m here to try to win championships, but also to . . . be part of an amazing organization. So this is one of those [things] where you want to win and you want to win now, but you also need to have stability. From my understanding, that’s what I’m seeing.”
It was a given that there would be interest in some of the Mets who are becoming free agents at the end of the season, such as outfielders Tommy Pham and Mark Canha. But if the exchange of current assets for prospects is a long-term strategy, other Mets could be in play before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
At the top of the list is 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who is in the first year of a two-year, $86 million deal with a vesting third year for an additional $35 million. But there are others, such as reliever Brooks Raley, with whom the team could be under contract for another two seasons.
Alonso admitted that the Scherzer trade made him wonder about his future with the Mets. “I briefly thought about it, but it’s out of my control,” he said. “Everything is up to the higher-ups. I would be shocked [to be traded], just like when Max got traded.
“I know he bought real estate — he was like a New Yorker,” Alonso said of Scherzer. “He was all-in, no-trade clause. He was settled up. It’s kind of strange the way it unfolded.”
Nimmo is in the first season of an eight-year deal for $162 million. When asked about future seasons beyond this one, he replied, “I’m sure Steve [Cohen] and Billy and I will have that conversation at some point, but I can’t really speculate as to next year right now.”
After the Robertson trade, Eppler said, “We’re trying to balance the best interest of the team but also balance the best interest of the organization — sometimes those are more perpendicular than they are parallel.”
Said Lindor: “At first I didn’t quite understand what was happening. However, I did have the conversation with Billy and he clarified it. From Robertson we got two top prospects that could be . . . I don’t want to say when they’re going to be up, but they could be up sooner rather than later. And for Max, even though the trade . . . is not fully approved, the guy that’s been talked about [Luisangel Acuna] is a really good player. [He’s] in Double-A and could be up here sooner rather than later.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
