{"id":428626,"date":"2026-01-23T19:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428626\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:09:08","slug":"max-scherzer-is-willing-to-wait-could-tigers-be-an-option","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428626\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Scherzer is willing to wait. Could Tigers be an option?"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT — Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer remains unsigned as spring training approaches, and according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic<\/a>, he is prepared to wait until after Opening Day to find his next team.<\/p>\n

Scherzer told Rosenthal that he is healthy and ready to sign, but willing to be patient if it means joining a club with a legitimate chance to contend for a World Series.<\/p>\n

That kind of nontraditional timeline could align, at least theoretically, with the Tigers\u2019 situation.<\/p>\n

Detroit is set to open the season with a rotation of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Drew Anderson, with Troy Melton as a potential bullpen swing man or sixth starter in Toledo. Barring injury, the Tigers do not face an urgent need to supplement that group out of the gate.<\/p>\n

But as last season illustrated, pitching depth has a way of becoming relevant over a long summer. If Detroit determines it needs reinforcement later in the season, adding a veteran starter in May or June could represent a lower-risk way to strengthen the rotation without committing a roster spot or salary in March.<\/p>\n

The idea of a veteran waiting out the early part of the season is not unprecedented. Roger Clemens famously did so in his final year before joining the New York Yankees<\/a>, and David Robertson signed with the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> during the second half of last season.<\/p>\n

Rosenthal mentioned several playoff teams as potential fits for Scherzer, including the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Phillies. The Tigers, who have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, are part of that broader mix, in part because of Scherzer\u2019s history in Detroit, where he won his first Cy Young Award.<\/p>\n

Scherzer is not the only former Tiger and future Hall of Famer still on the market. Justin Verlander also remains unsigned. There has been no indication that Verlander is considering a post\u2013Opening Day signing, but it\u2019s not out of the question.<\/p>\n

Verlander earned $15 million last season, while Scherzer made $15.5 million. Those figures may be difficult for the Tigers to justify after spending $15 million on Alex Cobb in 2025 and receiving no on-field return<\/a>. With Verlander turning 43 in February and Scherzer turning 42 in July, it is also unclear whether either pitcher will be able to command similar salaries in 2026.<\/p>\n

Scherzer pitched for the Tigers from 2010 to 2014, going 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA as part of a famously elite rotation. During his tenure, the Tigers made the playoffs four times, including an American League pennant in 2012.<\/p>\n

Upon reaching free agency, Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals after the 2014 season. The deal proved a bargain, as Washington reached the postseason three times and won the 2019 World Series during his tenure.<\/p>\n

Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets before the 2022 season. He was dealt to the Rangers at the deadline<\/a> in 2023 and picked up another World Series ring with Texas.<\/p>\n

The 2024 season didn\u2019t go as well for Scherzer or the Rangers. He made only nine starts while battling multiple injuries, but he still landed a one-year, $15.5 million deal with the Blue Jays last January<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scherzer posted a 5.17 ERA (4.99 FIP) across 17 regular-season starts but also made three important postseason starts, including Game 3 and 7 of the World Series against the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT — Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer remains unsigned as spring training approaches, and according to Ken Rosenthal of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-428626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}