The Detroit Tigers and pitcher Max Scherzer have been mentioned in trade rumors since the offseason after the two sides could not get a contract extension deal done and now the NY Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, LA Dodgers and Boston Red Sox could be in the mix for a deal at the deadline, as the Yankees may use Ichiro Suzuki as trade bait for either Scherzer or Rick Porcello after Vidal Nuno took over for Ivan Nova.
The Tigers are in a tough spot about deciding what to do with Scherzer, who graces the cover of Sports Illustrated this week about his decision to turn down a big extension from the Tigers in the hopes of a bigger one after the season when he is a free agent. Adding to the situation is the Yankees, who lost Ivan Nova to an elbow injury and a Tommy John surgery and that could force the team to look at a deal if Vidal Nuno can't come in and be consistent. The Yankees pitching has been very solid in the rotation this year and while Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka are great back line starters, the team may need another arm if they want to win a championship.
According to ESPN.com, Scherzer opted to turn down a $144 million extension with the Tigers and this comes after he won the Cy Young last season while going 21-3 and with him being a Scott Boras client, you can expect him to ask for every penny he can get if he hits the open market. Scherzer is 30 years old and this will likely be the final big money deal he signs and part of that has to do with him turning down the extension. The two sides tabled talks before the season and that offer would have paid him $24 million a year and now he is on a one year deal worth $15,525,000 million after he put up a sub 3.00 ERA last year.
The Yankees have spent a ton of money over the past year, including on Tanaka, but with CC Sabathia slowly eroding away and Hiroki Kuroda getting older, the team needs another ace. Tanaka might be able to step into that role, but it's far too early to tell and while they may not want to spend over $150 million on another pitcher, getting Scherzer could turn the team into World Series championship contenders. The team has Rick Porcello as an option for trades and Ichiro Suzuki could be valuable around the deadline for the Yankees since he is in a bench role with the team.
The trade of Fister was a move to help the team ensure they had enough space to sign Scherzer, but that is no guarantee now, especially with the team tying up money in Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Anibal Sanchez, with the first two deals totaling over $350 million over the next decade. While Cabrera and Verlander are MVP and Cy Young winners, that is still a ton of money to have on the books and with Scherzer looking to get paid over $140 million on his next deal, that could be too much to handle for the Tigers, although Mike Ilitch appears to be one of the most willing owners to spend in baseball.
