December 10th, 2021 at 9:30 am 
by Ron Cervenka There are many Dodgers fans who thought – or at least hoped – that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman would pull out all the stops to re-sign 37-year-old future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer after the 2021 season, during which he went 7-0 with a stellar 1.98 ERA as a Dodger.
He did not.
As it turns out, it was, in all likelihood, Scherzer’s own decision not to return to the Dodgers; and probably regardless of what Friedman offered him to do so.
It was reported on social media (Twitter) on Thursday that the three-time Cy Young Award winner, eight-time All-Star, and 2019 World Series Champion (i.e., future Hall of Famer) did not particularly like the way Friedman – and even more so Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – utilized him; this despite his team-best record and ERA.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Although Scherzer’s quote was actually posted on December 1 by The Athletic senior writer Britt Ghiroli, it didn’t come to light until Thursday morning, December 9.
Sour grapes?
Perhaps.
That being said, there probably isn’t a Dodger fan out there who disagrees with Scherzer’s logic, perhaps even the rest of the Dodgers starting rotation.
Although the St. Louis, MO native and first-round draft pick in 2006 by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the University of Missouri in Columbia unquestionably would have been a very significant starter for Friedman to bring back for 2022 (and beyond), one can certainly argue that the record-setting three-year/$130 million contract that he agreed to with the New York Mets on Wednesday for an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $43.33 million is/was well out of Friedman’s (and the Dodgers) price range.
Scherzer’s deal with the Mets also includes these lofty performance incentives:
- $200,000 if he were named MVP
- $200,000 for winning the Cy Young Award
- $150,000 if he were to be named World Series MVP
- $100,000 for winning the LCS MVP
- $100,000 if he were named to the All-Star team
- Four premium tickets to each home game, with an option to purchase four tickets for each postseason home game
Keep in mind that ‘Mad Max’ (as he is affectionately known) will be 40 years old when his three-year deal with the Mets ends.
Although not having Scherzer in Dodger Blue in 2022 (and beyond) may be a tough pill for many Dodgers fans to swallow, it is hard to argue that Friedman, considered by many to be the best in the business, did not do the right thing.
…again.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
Scherzer & Seager — SHOW ME THE MONEY
Fact.
I agree of course but then if your ENTIRE career is almost certainly done by your early to mid 30’s it is understandable to strive to make the most money you can. For average guys like us it is difficult to fathom tens of millions NOT being “enough” – but then we don’t have the premium talents these guys have, never did and never will.
I’m glad AF didn’t sign Scherzer to that much money heading for 40. He might prove to be worth it but the smarter bet is that he won’t. To a lesser degree the same applies to Seager because of his injury history and such a long-ass contract. Rangers will be looking to relieve themselves of it in 4-5 years.
Excellent points. I agree with you about the Dodgers decision regarding Scherzer. Enough said.
For me, losing Seager hurts much more than Scherzer, but I am biased as Corey is a fellow Tar Heel. I have been a fan since his first year in professional baseball (2012). If reports are correct, the Dodgers made an excellent offer to Corey earlier this year (8 years, $250M). How Seager and Boras turned down that amount of guaranteed money is surprising, but in retrospect the correct decision for. My guess, when their offer was rejected the Dodgers knew that re-signing Seager was very unlikely and one of the reasons they traded for Trea Turner with Scherzer.
My fear, one day Dodgers fans will look back and regret the day that Corey Seager left for more money.
I, too, am disappointed that Seager (i.e., Scott Boras) did not re-sign with the Dodgers. I mean, can a person actually spend $250 million – let alone $325 million – in their lifetime … or their kid’s kid’s lifetimes?!
That said, I (unfortunately) believe that Seager will not make it through 10 seasons in Texas without suffering some type of significant injury (or several). If his time with the Dodgers taught us anything, it’s that he is very injury prone.
I wonder if they would have stayed if Robert’s was gone.
I think that is a very fair question. But,
The Mets offer to Scherzer blew everyone else out of the water. For Seager, remember that there is no state income tax in Texas. The California max rate is 12.3% — so Seager realizes almost $40 million more over 10 years in Texas than California. That is a pretty compelling reason to sign with Rangers.
@Dodgers Glad we had him while we did.
1000% spot on!
Seager is made of glass and his defense is atrocious. No dodger fan will look back and say “wow, we should have kept him” 😂😂😂😂
Cannot let that erroneous information stand unanswered. Take a look at Fangraphs defensive stats and you will see that Seager is an average defender at shortstop (2020 was the only year below ML average) so atrocious is simply unsupported hyperbole. Made of glass??? How many players take a 90+ mph pitch to their hand on a bat and don’t come away with a broken bone? Yes, he missed a year from TJ surgery (and had hip procedure during same period) but that doesn’t qualify him as made of glass. What will happen in 10 years? I believe he will be HOF worthy — we’ll see.
I’d rather have Trea and Freeman than Seager and Trea. Sign Freddie, trade Lux et al for a quality starting pitcher and bench help; sign Kershaw. Let Heaney, Gonsolin, Price, Jackson, White, Pepiot, Miller and eventually May provide 5th starter and depth. Sign Bryant for obvious depth and a bridge to future 3rd basemen. Patch up the bullpen and you’re good to go. Dump Manfred!
I do not see the Dodgers signing Turner, Freeman, and Bryant, with Betts and Bauer contracts. I like Freeman, but that moves Muncy to second base where he is well below average defensively — statistically, Muncy is a better defender than. Freeman (Fangraphs). But, a good topic for debate. I hope Kershaw is healthy enough to pitch, but we will not know that until spring training.
it is a Business !!!