If you were to go back and read all the big preseason preview stories from March, you¡¯ll find that one of the aspects of the 2023 season everyone was looking forward to most was the Mets¡¯ combination of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Two of the best pitchers in baseball, wizened veterans and former teammates still at the top of their game, fierce competitors whose faces have become the very representation of postseason intensity ¡ in the same rotation! One thing every preview made clear: No team would want to face the Mets -- and those two -- in the postseason.
Long story short: Things have not exactly gone to plan in Queens, and the Mets could be sellers before next Tuesday¡¯s Trade Deadline. Given the dearth of quality starting pitching on the market, there are even rumblings that Scherzer or Verlander could be made available. And despite both of them battling inconsistency (and injury) thus far this season, their long track records of success would undoubtedly attract some suitors.
There are clearly potential roadblocks standing in the way of a trade, starting with that big no-trade clause that each pitcher would have to waive. Additionally, their big salaries -- both are due more than $15 million for the rest of this season and more than $40 million next season -- will be a roadblock, though Mets owner Steve Cohen has shown a willingness to eat salary in trades to grease the wheels on the return package. (Also of note, Scherzer has an opt-out after his year, which will complicate things, but could also be a path for some creative negotiating with a motivated buyer.)
All that said, there are still plenty of teams eager to get in on a potential Verlander-Scherzer sweepstakes. (MLB Network's Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Giants are particularly eager, but they¡¯re hardly alone.)
So, with the Trade Deadline a week away, let¡¯s have a little fun. Let¡¯s try to put together some Verlander/Scherzer Trade Deadline Power Rankings, an attempt to rank the teams that would seem most likely to trade for either one of the duo. (Or both! Why not?) While it¡¯s certainly unlikely anyone would end up with both, certainly by targeting one you¡¯re showing willingness to bring in either; the pitchers certainly have similarities, that¡¯s why we were all so excited to see them pitching alongside each other in the first place. So for the sake of this discussion, we¡¯ll lump them together here.
Who would be most likely to make a big swing for these guys, if the Mets end up being able to pull it off? Here are our Verlander/Scherzer Trade Deadline Power Rankings.
1. Orioles
It¡¯s all coming together for the first-place Orioles. But O's fans can still reasonably be expecting two things they haven¡¯t seen yet: a starting-pitching upgrade and a big move that shows that Orioles brass are willing to take an aggressive step. What could take care of both of those more than trading for either of these guys? The Orioles are young and thrilling, but to have Verlander or Scherzer glowering down at an opponent in Game 1 of a postseason series could change the whole equation. And we know the Orioles have plenty to trade. This team is so fun right now. Imagine how fun this would make them?
2. Rays
The Rays never end up signing guys like Verlander or Scherzer (or Shohei Ohtani, for that matter), but they always end up in Trade Deadline roundup lists like this because if they¡¯re going to get one of those type of guys, this is the way it would happen. The Rays were the dominant team for the first two months of the year, but now the Orioles have caught them, at the exact moment their starting pitching is starting to thin out. This sure would be a way to fix that problem. Scherzer might be more likely because of his player option here, and it¡¯s the sort of savvy move you can totally imagine the Rays doing. And looking at the standings ¡ they may have to.
3. Giants
The Giants are in the midst of a six-game losing streak right now, but that still hasn¡¯t dropped them out of their standing in the third NL Wild Card spot. And while they¡¯ve had success with putting together a patchwork rotation and figuring out ways to improve it internally, bringing in a star -- something they¡¯ve been trying to do with little success for a few years now -- would be a jolt of energy this club could very much use right now. They¡¯re already connected to Verlander, but honestly, wouldn¡¯t Scherzer look terrific in a Giants uniform, too?
4. Dodgers
You can never count them out of these sort of sweepstakes, and certainly rotation depth is an issue right now. Yet it is sort of curious how little buzz there is about the Dodgers getting in on either of them, isn¡¯t it? Perhaps now that the Dodgers have reasserted control of the NL West, they¡¯ll be looking to start fortifying for the postseason.
5. Astros
The Astros might not have the prospects to bring in one of these guys, though everyone values prospects differently. And wouldn¡¯t it be the ultimate push of the reset button if Verlander returned to Houston? The Astros¡¯ rotation injury issues have been clearing up a bit, but there¡¯s no question that the Astros have felt different this year: They haven¡¯t seemed to have that dominant killer instinct we¡¯ve gotten used to from them. Perhaps bringing back Verlander to restore it would help? It¡¯d be fun to see him back in that uniform again. It would be like he never left.
6. Blue Jays
They¡¯ve started to shake off a two-year-long listlessness and are now ahead of both the Red Sox and Yankees, holding an AL Wild Card spot. But there¡¯s still a sense that the Blue Jays need one more extra little push, even if they don¡¯t catch the Orioles or Rays. (Which they still could, by the way.) We¡¯ve all been waiting for the Blue Jays to really kick it into gear. Maybe this could be the move that does it?
7. Rangers
The Astros are starting to gain on them a bit, and since they don¡¯t have a Jacob deGrom to help stave them off, perhaps one of the closest equivalents will do the trick. The Rangers have been extremely aggressive in trying to build a playoff team the past couple of years, and there is no sense in stopping now.