Scherzer to Washington?

One eye on Detroit, one eye
on Washington

Max Scherzer won 21 games with a 2.90 ERA this year and by all accounts is expected to win the AL Cy Young this season.  He's also about to get very expensive as he will be a free agent at the end of next season. It's tough to gauge exactly how much money Scherzer will demand, but Cole Hamels at a similar age and performance level resigned with the Phillies for a six-year $144 million deal. If the Tigers are to retain Scherzer's services, chances are he's going to cost ~ $150 million.

It's tough to trade an ace on a team that's trying to win a championship but it's also a lot of money to spend with Justin Verlander (owed $160 million), Anibal Sanchez ($72 million) and Prince Fielder ($168 million) already on the books. Miguel Cabrera is owed $44 million as well but the more pressing concern is resigning him. Mike Ilitch is willing to spend money and would like to see a World Series on his watch but I don't need to remind you that the Tigers aren't exactly the Dodgers of the Midwest.

With all of that said, Ken Rosenthal brings us the first juicy rumor of the season -- Max Scherzer to Washington:

Think about it:

• Scherzer and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo have a history — Scherzer was Rizzo’s last first-round pick as Diamondbacks scouting director, going No. 11 in 2006.

• The Nationals are deep in young power arms and veteran late-inning relievers, both of which surely are on Tigers GM David Dombrowski's wish list.

• The price in prospects for Scherzer, a free agent at the end of next season, would be lower than it is for Price, who is under club control for two more years.

• And, finally, the Nats maintain a strong relationship with Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras, and might stand a better chance of signing the pitcher long term than most clubs.

It doesn't take an advanced scout to realize that Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in baseball so if Washington wants to acquire an ace, I'm not sure that Rizzo's relationship with Scherzer is going to matter. Either way, Rosenthal brings up some good points but the big if is will the Tigers trade Scherzer?

With or without Scherzer the Tigers have a formidable pitching staff and there is certainly sound logic in unloading Scherzer to free up some money to spend elsewhere. However, another option is simply letting Scherzer walk after the season, take the draft pick as compensation and let it ride with the three-headed Verlander/Scherzer/Sanchez monster. The stars and scrubs approach can rear it's ugly head but it's unsettling to think of trading Scherzer's ~$13 million contract in order to spend on a few middling relievers and Omar Infante. If the Tigers were able to open their wallets a bit, they should be able to retain Omar Infante, keep Scherzer for 2014 and fill in the rest of the roster with one-year contracts that shouldn't be hurt them next offseason.

A Proposal:

1. Keep Omar Infante (3 years/ ~$30 million)
2. Trade Victor Martinez (eating some cash) for relief help.
3. Move Prince Fielder to DH and Miguel Cabrera to first.
4. Play Nick Castellanos at third.
5. Sign David Murphy for LF.

The flip side is that Scherzer should demand a solid bounty but with only one year remaining on his contract, he may not be as appealing to GMs as he is to speculative fans. We don't know for sure what kind of offers the Tigers could receive, and given that  he's one of the best starters in the league, they would be smart to at least dangle Scherzer out there. My guess is that they would be better off holding on, but Rosenthal admits no trade is close to imminent.

I'm no genius to suggest that the Tigers just spend more money to solve their problems but color me skeptical that the Tigers receive an offer on Scherzer that's worthwhile.