Former Mets Pitcher Scherzer Speaks On Verlander, Clubhouse

Former New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer returned to Citi Field for the first time since the Mets traded him to the Texas Rangers days before the trade deadline.

In the aftermath of the deal, there were many narratives that came out of the fallout, which included the Mets dealing Scherzer’s veteran teammate, Justin Verlander, to Houston.

One was that Scherzer and Verlander had some issues this season. Another was from an anonymous Mets player that Verlander was a “diva,” something for which Verlander said he was “… sorry to hear that a staff member took offense to constructive criticism on how we could improve.”

From Scherzer’s perspective, there was no clubhouse discord when he was part of the Mets and he and Verlander had a good relationship.

“All the stuff with Ver and I, Ver and I are actually on a better page now than when we started the season,” said Scherzer to the media that interviewed him before Monday’s game. “We’re much better off than we’ve ever been.”

The Athletic reported in the same story that sources within the Mets backed up Scherzer’s version that the two former Cy Young winners had a good relationship.

He also said there was no "discord" in the clubhouse.

Monday was his first chance to speak to the New York media since the trade. He joined the Rangers right after the trade and was part of their eight-game win streak to start August. The Rangers have now lost nine of 11 games and lost their lead in the American League West, but still have a good chance of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2016.

The Mets aren’t going anywhere this year and the team’s desire to build for the future — and not go for a title in 2024 — had a lot to do with Scherzer waiving his no-trade clause and exercising his option for 2024 to return to the Rangers.

He thanked Mets owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler for being up front about the club’s move to the future.

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“That was our wishful thinking (as players),” he said. “That was what the players wanted to hear and the direction we thought. That’s what we were hoping for and how our minds were. So when you do hear that they’re going to pull the plug on ’23, yeah that’s disappointing. The common viewpoint amongst us players was, ‘OK, let’s go for it in 2024. We’ve got the talent here to do it.’ It became obvious that wasn’t the direction.”