The Boston Red Sox made a major pitching acquisition last offseason in Garrett Crochet. He was the Cy Young Award runner-up, and the Red Sox have the opportunity to add even more talent to their starting rotation this offseason.
The free agent market has plenty of players who could help take the Red Sox rotation to another level. Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suárez and Michael King would all be great additions. However, there are also some big names the Red Sox should avoid. One of those players is legendary pitcher Max Scherzer.
Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, eight-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion. He is a future Hall of Famer and has cemented himself as one of the best pitchers of this generation. However, he is no longer the player he once was.
He turned back the clock in the postseason, pitching well for the Toronto Blue Jays on their way to the World Series. In Game 7, he took the ball and gave the Blue Jays 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one run. Overall, he had a 3.77 ERA across three starts in October.
While fans saw a somewhat vintage version of “Mad Max” in October, the small sample size is not something that should have the Red Sox lining up to sign him. Scherzer had a subpar regular season. He made just 17 starts, posting a 5.19 ERA.
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He is 41 years old, and injuries are starting to add up. He has made just 26 starts in the last two seasons, dealing with shoulder, thumb and back injuries. He can still be a solid arm in the back of a rotation, but that is not what the Red Sox need.
During the general manager meetings, Craig Breslow said the Red Sox would only pursue starting pitchers who could pitch near the top of their rotation. Scherzer would not qualify as someone who can be a No. 2 for Crochet, at least not at this point in his career.