Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians Urged To Pursue 3-Time Cy Young Award Pitcher

Could the Cleveland Guardians make a play for Max Scherzer in free agency?
Matthew Schmidt|
Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians are in dire need of starting pitching, and that is not something that will change in the offseason.

The Guardians' starting rotation took a massive hit in April when Shane Bieber went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The problem is that Cleveland can't just pencil the star hurler into its staff next season, as Bieber is slated to hit free agency.

So, what will the Guardians do in the offseason?

Jacob Mountz of FanSided sees one potential solution: pursuing three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer.

Scherzer, who is currently playing for the Texas Rangers, has been on the injured list most of the season due to various issues. In eight starts this year, he has gone 2-4 with a 3.89 ERA.

Given that he is 40 years old with a lot of mileage on his body, Scherzer obviously isn't going to be landing any long-term contracts over the winter.

That could open the door for the notoriously cost-conscious Guardians to step in and make him a legitimate one-year offer.

Scherzer may be old, and he may no longer be the bona fide ace he once was. But he could absolutely help Cleveland's ailing rotation.

The eight-time All-Star went 13-6 while pitching to the tune of a 3.77 ERA in 2023, allowing 126 hits while registering 174 stirkeouts over 152.2 innings of work between the New York Mets and the Rangers. Most importantly, he helped lead Texas to a World Series title.

Scherzer boasts a lifetime 3.16 ERA and a terrific 4.52 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has led the league in punchouts three times and has fanned 10.7 batters per nine innings over the course of his career.

The St. Louis native is definitely worth the risk for the Guardians, who are a couple of starting pitchers away from being truly terrifying.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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