Max Scherzer rethinking Mets future after David Robertson trade, wants 'conversation' with front office
The New York Mets lit up a bright, shiny sign that says "Open for business" Thursday when they traded closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Apparently, Max Scherzer wasn't a fan of the move.
The three-time Cy Young winner showed some displeasure while speaking with reporters after a 5-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday. Specifically, he said he needed to speak with the Mets' front office about his future with the team now that it is officially selling, via MLB.com:
“I’ve got to have a conversation with the front office … about everything,” Scherzer said. “That’s the most I’m going to say. You have to talk to the brass. You have to understand what they see, what they’re going to do. That’s the best I can tell you.
"I told you I wasn’t going to comment on this until [owner] Steve [Cohen decided] to sell. We traded Robertson. Now we need to have a conversation. I haven’t had that conversation yet, and I will.”
The Mets traded Robertson to the Marlins in exchange for a pair of promising prospects in infielder Marco Vargas and catcher Ronald Hernandez. The return might've been good, but the message of trading away a closer with a 2.05 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 44 innings was an undeniable white flag in a season in which the Mets hold a 49-54 record and sit 6.5 games back of the third and final NL wild-card spot.
Scherzer's performance is part of why the Mets have struggled. He threw seven innings and allowed one run against his former team Friday, but he holds a 4.01 ERA in 19 starts — not exactly what the team envisioned when it signed him to a three-year, $130 million contract two offseasons ago.
Scherzer seemed aware of that Friday:
"We put ourselves in this position. We haven't played well as a team. I've had a hand in that for why we're in the position that we're at. Can't get mad at anybody but yourself, but it stinks."
Scherzer is technically under contract for next year, but he holds an opt-out after this season. That would likely be the first topic of conversation whenever he sits down with Mets leadership. The 39-year-old Scherzer might not be pitching up to expectations this season, but it's undeniable that he wants to play for a contender in his final years as a productive player.
