Phillies Rumors: Interest in Max Scherzer could be more than just due diligence

The Philadelphia Phillies front office has seemingly been in hibernation since their flurry of pre-holiday deals in December. After signing outfielder Max Kepler and reliever Joe Ross and trading for starter Jesús Luzardo, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sounded like he was content with the roster as is — although he never rules out upgrading when the chance arises.

We learned on Friday morning that there indeed is some stirring in the offices at Citizens Bank Park as we slide deeper into January. With spring training mere weeks away, one of the many free agents left on the market is drawing interest from a number of contending clubs, including the Phillies.

Future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Max Scherzer is looking for a home for the 2025 season and recently threw a session for interested teams at Cressey Sports Performance, according to Sports Illustrated's Pat Ragazzo. The Phillies were among those in attendance to watch the legendary right-hander, as were the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.

Phillies interest in Max Scherzer could be more than just due diligence

Whether the Phillies are seriously interested in signing Scherzer or are just doing due diligence remains to be seen. Despite battling injuries at the end of 2023 and during last season, his presence on the free agent market has attracted the attention of the league's heavyweights. Kicking the tires feels like a necessity for the Phillies at this point and a case can be made for finding a place for the decorated hurler.

Scherzer, who will turn 41 during the 2025 season, is a three-time Cy Young winner, eight-time All-Star and has won two World Series over his 17-year career. The Phillies are all too familiar with prime Scherzer from his run with the Washington Nationals from 2015 to 2021. He also spent a season and a half with the Mets before being traded to the Texas Rangers, where he picked up his second ring.

Dombrowski has a connection to Scherzer from his time with the Detroit Tigers, where they overlapped for four seasons from 2010 through 2014. As Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation points out, the Phillies front office has a strong connection to Cressey, with former assistant pitching coach Brian Kaplan a co-founder, while his successor with the Phillies, Mark Lowy, is also a Cressey alum. Luzardo and top prospect Andrew Painter also work out there.

Scherzer has a career 216-112 record, with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.078 WHIP in 466 MLB games. He is just 122 innings shy of 2,000 innings after throwing just 43 1/3 last year. He got a late start in 2024 after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc over the winter and battled shoulder fatigue and a hamstring injury, limiting his effectiveness for the Rangers. In nine starts, he went 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.

After adding Luzardo, the Phillies' rotation looked set for the season, but as the adage goes, you can never have too much pitching. Their depth after the top five is questionable at best. The Dodgers keep adding starting pitchers, Roki Sasaki being the latest addition, so the Phillies need to keep up in the arms race and improve their MLB-caliber starting depth to combat the season's attrition.

It's impossible for a starting staff to go through a full season without some injuries. Adding Scherzer would give the Phillies one more arm in between the No. 5 spot in the rotation and beleaguered veteran Taijuan Walker. He would also provide some extra insurance in case top prospect Andrew Painter hits any snags during his ramp-up to his MLB debut.

If the Phillies opt to pursue this avenue, the intangibles in the clubhouse and mentoring younger players would also be an added bonus.

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