After suffering the biggest post-All-Star break bullpen meltdown in team history, which cost them a playoff spot, the Boston Red Sox are still hunting for relief pitchers, even though spring training camps begin in just two weeks.
A journalist for the Red Sox cable television network and web site NESN believes they may have unearthed one: a future Hall of Fame starting pitcher.
Max Scherzer agreed to a three-year, $150 million contract with the New York Mets before the 2022 season. However, the 40-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner walked away from that contract with a whimper last season. The Mets traded him to the Texas Rangers in the middle of 2023, and a series of ailments limited Scherzer to a career-low 43 1/3 innings in nine starts for Texas in 2024.
However, Scherzer has stated that he believes he can still pitch at “a high level,” and to demonstrate this, he hosted a bullpen session for scouts from at least eight teams earlier this week at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. According to SI.com writer Pat Ragazzo, the Red Sox were among the clubs in attendance.
What would the Red Sox, whose starting rotation appears complete with the acquisitions this offseason of Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, do with Scherzer in his 18th big league season?
“Scherzer’s fastball still has some life, but he’s not the perennial All-Star he used to be,” wrote NESN’s Tim Crowley on Friday, noting that Scherzer already has some limited bullpen experience. “Why not have him in a relief role where he can let it fly in a smaller window? Scherzer has a 2.57 career ERA in a short 19-inning sample size as a reliever and closed out the 2021 National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.”
The Red Sox’s projected closer Liam Hendriks has not pitched since June 9, 2023, missing time first due to an ordeal with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and then Tommy John surgery. Scherzer is a power pitcher — his 3,407 career strikeouts ranks him 11th on the all-time leaderboard — meaning he has the stuff required of a traditional closer.
Would Scherzer accept a bullpen role? The Red Sox will likely have competition for Scherzer’s services from other MLB teams, most if whom will be expected to at least try him in the starting rotation, so Boston’s chances of landing Scherzer as a bullpen piece may be a long shot.
