On man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The Texas Rangers acquired Cy Young Award winner and star right-hander Max Scherzer from the New York Mets in a Saturday trade, bolstering the Rangers’ pitching staff for a World Series run, as the deconstruction of the disappointing Mets continues, sources close to the situation told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.
While a tentative deal was struck earlier in the day, it was contingent on Scherzer waiving a no-trade clause. One day after expressing frustration over the Mets’ trade of closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins, Scherzer approved the deal to Texas, where he will join the American League West-leading Rangers, who at 60-45, 15 games over .500, are one game ahead of the World Series champions Houston Astros.
In return, the Mets will receive Luisangel Acuna, 21, a middle infielder and center fielder who will likely be among the Mets top prospects.
Acuna was playing in the minors for Double-A Frisco in the Rangers’ farm system and was hitting .315 with seven home runs, 51 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in 82 games. He is the younger brother of NL MVP candidate Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr.
As part of the deal, Scherzer has elected to opt in to the 2024 season with the Rangers. Texas will pay Scherzer $22.5 million, while the Mets will cover more than $35 million of the remaining terms.
After the Mets’ 11-6 loss to the Washington Nationals Saturday night, New York manager Buck Showalter did not discuss the deal in any detail, saying only that it “hasn’t been done” yet.
Later, after the Rangers’ 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres, Texas manager Bruce Bochy was equally as noncommittal, saying “there’s nothing I can give you right now. No word. I just came in and haven’t talked to anybody. I can’t tell you where it’s at right now.”
The Rangers have the most prolific offense in baseball, however, they went into trade-deadline season hoping to add to their rotation after their highest-profile free agent addition, Jacob deGrom, underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in June.
They traded for Scherzer despite his Major League Baseball-high annual salary of $43.3 million, and the potential for him to opt out of the final year of his contract following this season.
In the 39-year-old Scherzer, the Rangers get a future first ballot Hall of Famer whose 2023 season has been full of peaks and valleys by his own lofty standards. He is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA, has struck out 121 and walked 30 in 107⅔ innings of work and has surrendered a National League-high 23 home runs.
Scherzer joined Mets prior to the 2022 season and thrived while on the mound, with a 2.29 ERA in 145⅓ innings over 23 starts.
The Mets, who signed co-ace Justin Verlander over the winter from the Houston Astros, came into this season with an MLB-record payroll of more than $350 million and eyed their first championship since 1986.
They never found their footing, and at 49-55, the Mets are in fourth place in the NL East and 18 games behind the first-place Braves. The trade of Robertson started their unloading process, and the trade of Scherzer continues it; the Mets are expected to move even more players before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline, sources said.
Texas, meanwhile, hopes to trot out a playoff rotation headlined by Scherzer and Nathan Eovaldi, with Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, Martin Perez, and Andrew Heaney also options. In June, they traded for left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman, and they have been in discussions with multiple teams about more bullpen depth, including Robertson, who eventually was dealt to the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.
