The New York Mets turned heads in the offseason after an eye-popping spending spree from new owner Steve Cohen. The Mets committed nearly $500 million in free agent signings alone to bolster their 101-win squad, led by stars Max Scherzer and Francisco Lindor, in 2022. However, despite the Mets' willingness to spend whatever it would take to acquire the biggest stars that they could, they were still unable to re-sign Jacob deGrom, who instead chose to sign with the Texas Rangers.
The Mets then had to pivot to other free agent targets in light of deGrom's departure. And in the process of pivoting, the Mets signed 2022 World Series winner Justin Verlander to reunite him with Scherzer, two star pitchers who were teammates for five seasons from 2010-2014 on the Detroit Tigers.
Seeing Verlander and Max Scherzer pitch together once more, with both now grizzled, World Series-winning veterans, should be a delightful sight to see for Mets fans. Even Scherzer himself couldn't contain his excitement about their reunion as he spoke in front of the media prior to the start of Spring Training.
“It is exciting. I've pitched with [Verlander] before, I've gotten to learn from him in the past. It's really going to be interesting pitching with him again. I know we've pitched together for five years, but actually we've been apart for eight now,” Scherzer said, per SNY.
Time sure does fly. It doesn't seem that long ago that Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, along with David Price, Rick Porcello, and Anibal Sanchez, formed one of the most-feared pitching rotations in history. The Tigers were one of the most legitimate contenders back then even though they suffered through suboptimal bullpen play.
Nevertheless, Scherzer acknowledged that his and Verlander's experiences during their time apart have helped them become better pitchers. In fact, Scherzer anticipated being able to learn from one of the rare star pitchers who have more experience than he does.
“His experiences there in Houston, it's going to be real fun to start comparing notes. And looking at the game, the game has evolved too since we've played together. Just different, how swing paths changed, and so kinda how we both see the game now, it's going to be real fascinating to see his mind on how he attacks different guys,” Scherzer added.
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