Anything can happen in the unpredictable offseason, but if Max Scherzer had it his way, he’d be a Detroit Tiger for the foreseeable future.
Although reports have come out that the Tigers would be open to trading their ace, the recently crowned AL Cy Young Award winner voiced that he doesn’t want to be traded, telling MLB Network Radio on Friday that even though he’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season, he is perfectly content staying put.
“I don’t want to be traded,” Scherzer said MLB Network Radio. “I got a great thing going in Detroit, we have a great team. I hope they don’t mess with it. I want to be a Detroit Tiger and hopefully get back to the playoffs and try to do the ultimate goal and win something for the city of Detroit.”
Coming off a spectacular 2013 season, the 29-year-old’s stock only continued to rise as he went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, leading the Tigers to the ALCS before eventually falling to the World Series champion Red Sox in six games. Scherzer’s numbers and awards only added to the speculation that is now surrounding his long-term plans, as he is certainly due for a pay raise after making $6.73 million last season.
While Scherzer has been taking the business side of baseball in stride, he acknowledged the respect he has for the guys who he has behind him, conceding that that’s the way he would like to keep things.
“We got a great team. We got great guys around,” Scherzer said. “I got great teammates around me. And then we got Miguel Cabrera. Who would want to leave and actually face that guy?”
Tigers general manager David Dombrowski didn’t help clear up any of the uncertainty at the GM meetings in Orlando, Fla., refusing to address the trade rumors and what the future holds for Scherzer.
“We like Max, and he likes Detroit,” Dombrowski said. “We’ll see what happens.”
