Rangers Bolster Rotation, Trading For Multi-time Cy Young Winner Max Scherzer

(Article image creds: Frank Franklin II/AP)

Originally published July 29th, 2023, for Kill That Noise

Three-time Cy Young Award Winner Max Scherzer is on the move again; the Texas Rangers traded for the ace pitcher on Saturday. The Rangers, who have a solid rotation, don’t have a true ace who is currently healthy, so they moved for Scherzer, who waived his no-trade clause. The Rangers’ biggest prize this past offseason was signing Scherzer’s former teammate on the Mets, Jacob deGrom, who is out with Tommy John Surgery.

The Rangers, who stand atop the American League West with a 60-44 record, are looking to push for a run in the postseason, which they are extremely capable of. Adding a veteran like Scherzer, who has struggled in the ERA department with just above a 4.00, will help the Rangers because his win-loss record is still five wins above .500. If Texas can stick to their winning ways. High production on offense, Scherzer, every five days, will provide effective pitching that is dependable to help them reach the postseason after spending hundreds of millions of dollars these past few offseasons. The Rangers have a chance to prove that high spending in baseball can win championships. The Texas Rangers organization deserves a championship, and so do their fans–they have never won a World Series and lost two years in a row, in 2010 and 2011, the latter being oh-so-close to baseball immortality.

It is not public who the Rangers are trading to the New York Mets for Scherzer, who has a $43.3 million player option for next season.