With a lot of the hot stove activity already being sorted out, one big piece is still hanging on the free agent list as right-hander Max Scherzer has yet to find a landing spot.
Scherzer and super-agent Scott Boras are reportedly looking for a multi-year deal in the $200 million range, leading many teams to take a pass on the free agent, but rumors surround him nearly on a daily basis.
Scherzer, 30, is coming off of a season where he finished tied for third in the MLB with 18 wins and in sole possession of third place in the league with 252 strikeouts in 220.1 inning through 33 starts.
Here's a look at three potential landing spots for the right-hander:
New York Yankees: The Bronx Bombers have had an uncharacteristically quiet offseason to this point and have been adamant that they will not be landing Scherzer, but you can never rule anything out when it comes to the deep-pocketed Yankees.
New York's rotation features a lot of question marks when it comes to the health of many of its pitchers. CC Sabathia is coming off of knee surgery, Masahiro Tanaka had a partially torn UCL in his elbow, Michael Pineada is seemingly never healthy and Ivan Nova won't be available until at least May as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
With several question marks surrounding their rotation, it would be hard to see the Yankees not at least trying to land Scherzer, despite how much they've said they won't dabble into the market for the righty.
Detroit Tigers; Like the Yankees, the Tigers have insisted that they won't be trying to re-sign Scherzer for the money he is demanding, but there have been rumors Detroit may jump in and try to retain the righty as well.
With Justin Verlander struggling last season and the Tigers trading viable starter Rick Porcello away, they could use another arm to shore up their rotation.
Detroit brought Alfredo Simon and unproven Shane Greene in to fill out the bottom portion of the rotation, but with Verlander not playing well last season and David Price's future beyond 2015 in question, it couldn't hurt the Tigers to bring Scherzer back in the fold.
St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards have been linked to Scherzer because he is a St. Louis native, but beyond that a deal with him would make sense for the team.
St. Louis would love to bring Scherzer on board to join Adam Wainwright and former first round pick Lance Lynn as a lights out top three in the starting rotation.
The Cardinals are a solid option for Scherzer if he wants to play for a competitive team and the fact that he is from St. Louis is extra incentive to get a deal done between the two sides, though it's unknown if anything will come of it.
Through his seven-year career, Scherzer is 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,321 strikeouts.
For more coverage, follow us on Twitter @SportsWN and Like Us on Facebook
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
