RHP Max Scherzer – Scherzer turned down a $144 million extension from the Detroit Tigers before last season. Although he didn’t duplicate the 19-3 mark that won him the Cy Young Award, he was still pretty good with an 18-5 record, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Even though the Tigers have long-term commitments for Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and just re-signed Victor Martinez, they could still retain him. It will likely cost more than $144 million since agent Scott Boras will likely seek something along the lines of a $175 million contract. Scherzer won’t get Clayton Kershaw money but whoever signs him will be paying heavily for a former Cy Young Award winner in his prime. Outside of Detroit, San Francisco has been mentioned as a possibility and there’s always the Yankees, who could view Scherzer as protection in the event Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow hurts again.
