Yankees participated in Max Scherzer’s recent training. What does that mean?

Max Scherzer recently thrown In a pitching training on Cressey Sports Performance in the hope of showing the gas still left in the tank. Yankees along with at least seven other teams sent scouts and was allegedly impressed with what they saw from the 40-year-old free agent. What should we do from Yankees’ alleged interest in the future Hall of Famer?

2024 Statistics: 9 games, 43.1 IP, 3.95 ERA (101 ERA+), 4.18 FIP, 4.04 XFIP, 8.3 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1,154 WHIP, 0.6 FWAR

2025 FANKRAPHS DEPTH CARD PROSSIONS: 23 games, 128 IP, 3.97 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 9.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 1,170 WHIP, 2.1 FWAR

Previous contract: Signed three-year-old, $ 130 million contract with Mets On December 1, 2021. Handled to Rangers along with $ 35.5 million cash for Luisangel Acuña on July 29, 2023 and chose $ 43.3 million player setting as part of the agreement.

There is no doubt that Scherzer has been one of the best throwers of his generation and actually over time. His 3,407 strikes rank 11. In the MLB story. He is one of 11 pitchers winning at least three Cy Young Awards and he is one of four pitchers with multiple Cy Youngs, more World Series rings, more non-hitters and more all-star choices. However, 40 years old and comes from several injuries, it is still more uncertain which version of Scherzer will appear with every extra year he plays.

Scherzer managed to ward off the decline far longer than most throwers, but it seems that Father Time has begun to catch up on the right one at his age 38 and 39 seasons in the last two years. Throughout his first 15 seasons in BIGS, Scherzer beat a 3.11 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 3.28 XFIP, 29.5 percent strike frequency and just over 5.2 fwar per day. 32 matches. Over the past two seasons, his era sits at 3.81, fip at 4.29 and XFIP at 4.02, while his 2.2 Fwar in 2023 represents the lowest total in a non-carded season since his rookie year with Diamondbacks in 2008. His average fixedball speed has fallen by about two km

The truth is that the damage begins to be poured up to Scherzer. He was shut down in the last three weeks of the regular season 2023 with a Teres Major load, and although he returned to three appearances in the post season, he was again shut down with a spinal disorder (though he managed to secure his second ring) . After the end of the season, Scherzer underwent back surgery to repair a herniated disk, and improvement from this procedure as well as his thumb tenderness and a nerve problem in his triceps delayed the start of his season to June 23. The nerve problem continued to flare up that paired with arm fatigue caused more of time before a hamstring tribe ended his season early.

Even with this injury -related decline, Scherzer still represents a significant upgrade over Marcus Stroman, the current odd man in the rotation. Fangraphs’ depth card projection system estimates that each will turn a similar inning workload, but tabs Scherzer for 2.1 Fwar vs. Stroman’s 0.8. Stromans phone cards include the possibility of limiting hiking and keeping the ball in the park, two skills that are strongly regressed at Yankee Stadium. Without these floor height attributes, Stroman has a bit, if something to offer in front of Scherzer, the latter projected 25 percent strike, 3.97 ERA and 3.98 FIP significantly better than Stromans projections.

The biggest stumbling block is cost. Scholarship Mett-Time Met teammate Justin Verlander just signed a one-year, $ 15 million deal with Giants after a similar injured-hit campaign. This suggests that Scherzer could match if not the top shopping in the open market – both are the older statesmen pitchers in the league, but it is clear that teams still think they can take advantage of the talent’s reservoirs that have made each one a future first voice room in Famer.

Given that Yankees is actively trying to throw Stroman’s contract of $ 18 million – considered steep for a sixth starter as they try to redistribute the money against other parts of the schedule – it is hard to see how Scherzer would fit into Yankees ‘Rotation puzzle. They still do not have a left-handed reliever on the 40-man list and currently intend to enter the season with DJ Lemahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera as the most important opportunities to start on the third base. Of course, you can never have too much pitching, especially when you look at the time lost in 2024 for Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, but there are far more pressing problems than upgrading the sixth starting.

Yankees’ mere presence on training indicates a basic level of interest, but all else being equal, I imagine Scherzer will return at his age 40 season with the intention of signing with someone who can guarantee he will start every fifth day. Taking into account all this, I expect that we can archive this one under Yankees that makes their Due Diligence … so far.