Why Max Scherzer means more than the Mets realize

Max Scherzer is a member of the New York Mets.

Read it again, Mets fans. 

After a sleep-deprived night of “almost” rumors and sore fingers from refreshing Twitter every 2.3 seconds, Mets fans received the news that Max Scherzer agreed to terms to pitch in Queens for the next four years. 

Everything will be different for the Mets with the addition of Max Scherzer

There’s plenty to be said, almost too much in fact. You can start with highlighting that if healthy, and is a very legitimate if, the Mets have the best 1-2 rotation combo by an astronomical measure. You could also note that the Mets won’t have to face Scherzer and pried him away from the juggernaut that is the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

MetsTwitter, known for its infallible optimism, certainly had a lot to say:

The accolades speak for themselves. If you’re reading this and are weary of what a 37-year old Scherzer coming to the Mets means on the field, then look no further than this:

Since 2012, outside of the truncated 2020 season, Max Scherzer hasn’t finished outside of the top five in Cy Young voting. Not once. 

“Mad Max”, as he’s called (for good reason), has been the one of the best pitchers in baseball for a decade and after coming to terms Monday morning, he will be pitching alongside the best pitcher in baseball. 

For all the statistical reasons, this is a game changer for the Mets over the course of 162 (and hopefully more) games. And while all the attention has shifted to being able to get a black Scherzer shirsey from the MLB shop, Mets fans should be rejoicing over what this means for their organization.

The signing of Max Scherzer, in my estimation, is the most important moment in Steven Cohen’s very short history as owner of the New York Mets. Yes, even more than signing Francisco Lindor. You’ll recall that last year, similar terms (3 years/$120M) were almost agreed to with the biggest free agent pitcher at the time, Trevor Bauer. We all know how that played out for the Mets and Bauer himself. But with this securing of Max Scherzer, the Steve Cohen era that we all hoped for when the team was purchased is officially here. 

As they look to rebuild their top-heavy farm system, the Mets brass made it known that they were going to use their spending power to try to compete this year. Questions swirled around the inability to secure a President of Baseball Operations, a General Manager and even a manager for the team, which they still haven’t secured. Many people brought up the fact that free agents didn’t want to come to Flushing and that Sandy Alderson was a roadblock for any progress the club wanted to make. Others pointed to Cohen’s Twitter antics as a red flag for players. 

None of that mattered however. The Mets secured three solid position players on Black Friday and then put the baseball world on notice that the richest owner in the game was to be taken seriously when they signed the best free agent pitcher on the market. The largest deal ever in terms of annual value was shelled out by the New York Mets. In total, the club has spent $253M on four players, with half of that total going to one pitcher. 

This is a massive, massive day for the New York Mets because it changes the narrative. The days of being hamstrung by the likes of $20M to Jed Lowrie are long gone. The idea that big name free agents won’t come to NYC is dead. And most importantly, the days of settling for sub-par players for the sake of merely doing something are over forever. The Mets can and will be in the conversation for any player worth signing. 

This is a new era of Mets baseball and let it serve as a notice to everyone around the Majors that it’s just the beginning. The new New York Mets are here and they’re just getting started. 

LFGM.