How Adding Max Scherzer Can Be Tom Brady-Like Move For Mets

The two ageless wonders.

Just like when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers persuaded Tom Brady to leave the New England Patriots, the Mets lured Max Scherzer into coming to Queens in free agency, which was a similar franchise-altering move.

Brady, 44, has defied all odds by playing at a top-tier level as an NFL quarterback, despite entering his 40's, while Scherzer is still one of the best pitchers in baseball in his late-30s.

When the Bucs' signed Brady, they weren't thinking long-term, but instead made an attempt to win-now and it paid off when they captured a Super Bowl Championship in his first season at the helm.

As for the Mets, Steve Cohen and Co. have the same aspirations in mind by pairing Scherzer with soon-to-be 34-year-old ace Jacob deGrom to form MLB's best 1-2 punch in their rotation.

By adding Scherzer, the Mets have thrusted themselves into the conversation of being legitimate contenders while also making Queens an attractive destination. The Mets are trying to end their 36-year World Series title drought, and current SNY broadcaster and former 1986 championship-winning pitcher Ron Darling sees this acquisition as a move that can change the entire trajectory of the organization.

“It’s palpable,” Darling told SNY over the phone last week. “You’re getting one of the great pitchers in the game and one of the great individuals you’re ever going to meet.

“I equate it to (Tom) Brady going to Tampa Bay. It might be a little different. But what did you think of Tampa Bay before Brady got there? You didn’t give them two thoughts. But because of who he is and what he brings, he goes there and you’re like, ‘Shoot, they’ve got a pretty good club.’

“I think Max will mean that much to the Mets. It’s like, ‘OK, they’ve come up short (in recent years) for a lot of reasons, but it’s a different team now.’ ”

Not only does the addition of Scherzer enhance the Mets' talent on the field, but it is a major impact inside the clubhouse as well. The Mets fell apart last season and dealt with a lot of unnecessary drama off the field from the rat-raccoon fiasco, several players saying they lacked a voice of leadership in the room and the thumbs-down incident. With Scherzer, he can come in and change the culture given his track record.

“You hear a lot of stories, but it’s hard to assume clarity," said Darling. "Some of the stories seem to contradict what the players were saying all season, that they had a great culture in the clubhouse, so I’m not sure what to make of it.

“I can only go by what they were saying, but then you heard some of those quotes at the end of the season and it was like they came off what they’d been saying. Maybe they were determined to stick together... and then at the end they realized it wasn’t exactly what they thought it was.

“But to me none of that is as important as what they’re getting now with Scherzer. He makes everyone accountable by the way he works, the way he gets ready for games.”

According to Darling, who was on-hand at Dodger Stadium to work Game 4 of the NLDS for TBS back in October, Scherzer, 37, was out running foul poles the day after suffering a heart breaking 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

“So, I’m watching him run for awhile,” Darling said. “And then I go back to doing my pre-game work. And after awhile I look up and he’s still running. It seemed like he ran for an hour. I don’t know that for a fact, but it was long enough that at one point I remember thinking, ‘Damn, that freakin’ guy is still running?'

“That stuff is palpable on a ball club, man. That works. He lost a 1-0 game, his team was down 2-1 in a five-game series, but he’s out there working like that because he believed he was going to pitch again.”

Two days later, Scherzer came out of the bullpen in Game 5 to help his team clinch the series, closing things out in a one-run contest. Although Scherzer did this during the Washington Nationals' World Series run in 2019, this time, he proved to run out of gas after switching between starting and relief roles.

The right-hander only went 4.1 innings against the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the NLCS and then was unable to make his next scheduled start in Game 6 due to arm fatigue.

But as Scherzer revealed during his introductory press conference with the Mets on Dec. 1, he believes this was a result of the Dodgers' cautiousness by limiting his workload down the stretch to preserve his arm for the postseason.

The Mets signed Scherzer to a historic three-year, $130 million deal which sent shock waves throughout the baseball world. Now, both he and deGrom will have the chance to dominate in the same rotation.

“DeGrom is one of the best at compartmentalizing what he does and how to get ready for that,” Darling said. “It doesn’t matter if he plays for a team that wins 100 or loses 100, he makes sure his day to pitch is protected and taken care of. He does that better than anybody.

“And having Max around is going to help him in other ways. Just like Keith (Hernandez) used to banter with you guys, and Coney (David Cone) became that spokesperson type of guy with the Yankees, I could see Max taking that kind of role with the Mets and taking some heat off players who would prefer not to talk to the media.”

“Max just has that quality. He’s an incredibly intelligent ballplayer who’s put a lot of thought into a lot of things, and he’s going to be one of the main persons with the Players Association as they go through this lockout. You could make the argument that when you get to January, February, Max Scherzer is going to be as important as any player in the game.”

The Mets' rotation features two of the best pitchers in the league over the course of the past decade. New York has just three winning seasons since the start of 2009. But bringing in Scherzer has opened some eyes, just like when the Bucs' landed Brady prior to the 2020 season. And Scherzer can make the same type of impact by helping turn around the Mets upon arrival.