Right-hander Max Scherzer was the prize among pitchers on the free agent market, and he finally found a home Sunday, agreeing to a seven-year deal with the Washington Nationals, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the deal is worth $210 million over seven years, with half of that deferred: Scherzer will receive $15 million per year for 14 years, and that doesn't count any possible interest attached to the deferred money.
Max Scherzer, Nationals agree to 7-year $210 million deal
After winning 39 games with the Tigers in the last two seasons, Max Scherzer cashed in on the free agent market with a reported seven-year deal with Washington.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The reported deal came a few hours after SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported the Nationals and the former Tigers ace were getting close to a deal. The Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Angels, Astros and Dodgers had all shown interest in signing Scherzer, but all eventually dropped out of the running.
Scherzer was 18-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 33 starts for the Detroit Tigers in 2014, setting career highs with 252 strikeouts and 220⅓. innings. Scherzer has led the American League in wins the last two seasons, and followed up his Cy Young Award-winning campaign in 2013 by finishing fifth in AL voting in 2014.
The 30-year-old right-hander leads all of baseball with 723 strikeouts in the last three seasons, 23 more than Clayton Kershaw, his nearest competitor. Scherzer has made 30 or more starts in six straight seasons, averaging 209 strikeouts, 197 innings and 15 wins from 2009-14.
The right-hander turned down a qualifying offer of one year, $15.3 million from Detroit in November, meaning the Nationals forfeit their first-round pick in 2015 for signing Scherzer. The Tigers get a compensatory pick for losing Scherzer as a free agent, in between the first and second rounds.
Scherzer made $15.525 million in 2014, avoiding salary arbitration in his final season before free agency eligibility.
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