We could be witnessing Max Scherzer's final season in a Nationals uniform, a hard truth that's certainly not lost on most fans.
It's almost hard to fathom Scherzer's nearing the end of the seven-year, $210 million contract he signed with the Nationals way back in Jan. 2015. Scherzer has printed his Hall of Fame credentials in Washington, pitching two no-hitters (the first, one strike shy of a perfect game, no thanks to José Tábata's ever-encroaching elbow), and going 85-44 with a 2.78 ERA (and 3-2 with a 2.92 ERA in the postseason) while winning consecutive Cy Young Awards (2016, 2017) and bringing a World Series title to D.C.
At 36, Scherzer still possesses skills beyond comprehension, which he showed the other night by pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first against the Cardinals, a game the Nationals would go on to win 1-0.
Whether here or elsewhere, Scherzer's career will undoubtedly go on beyond 2021. It's entirely up to Washington ownership to decide whether it's willing to pay the freight for him to empty the tank in a Nationals uniform.
"I think he's gonna want to play as long as he can. I think he loves baseball. He loves competing," Ryan Zimmerman told The Sports Junkies during his weekly 106.7 The Fan appearance, presented by MainStreet Bank. "I think he knows he would miss that if he didn't have that in his life every five days."
The Sports Junkies proposed a somewhat harebrained idea, that the Nationals propose to Scherzer on his next contract the notion of continuing to be a starter for the next several years, and then transition into a closer's role to extend his career, in the vein of late-career John Smoltz (another Hall of Famer).
While not speaking for him, Zimmerman doesn't believe Scherzer's the type who would go for that.
"As far as the reliever thing, I think his answer would be 'I'm gonna go until there's someone better than me,'" Zimmerman said. "Until you can prove to me that every fifth day someone gives us a better chance to win, I'm gonna keep being the starter. And that's kind of the way that he goes about his business. I don't see that scenario happening, just because I know the way Max is."
"I kind of agree with him," he added. "If he's still putting up numbers and still doing what he's doing, he's gonna do that as long as he can."
"I hope he stays here. I don't know if they've talked or not," the Nationals lifer said. "I mean he's gonna keep pitching obviously, somewhere. I think you've seen the last couple times out that he's still one of the best in the league. His work ethic and the way he goes about his business, even as — which this hasn't happened yet — I think even as he starts throwing 91, 92, 93 instead of 94, 95, 96, I'm gonna put my money on that guy to figure out how to still get guys out for a number of years."
While the four homers he allowed in his season debut were alarming, they came in the first three innings, and Scherzer eventually found his footing, retiring the next 10 batters he faced in the Nationals' 6-5 win over the Braves, a testament to his real-time staying power.
Scherzer is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA with 33 strikeouts (11.9 strikeouts per nine) in his first four starts this season.
"He just does such a good job of preparing," Zimmerman said. "I wish people could see how much work goes into his start before he even goes out onto the field. Obviously the physical part of it; the four days in between his starts, the working out, the taking care of himself."
"But just the mental side of it and his plan," he said. "Watching him sit at his locker and go through their lineup, and look at the charts and look at the numbers, and just look at what he's going to do. And literally knows what he wants to do if that guy comes up the first time with nobody on, he's gonna maybe not throw him some pitches to save them for if he has to face him the second or the third time with people on base.
"I mean it's just the level, just he's so precise on what he wants to do every five days. And you combine that with the talent he has and that's how you get a Max Scherzer."
"That's how you get a Hall of Famer," Jason Bishop said.
"Absolutely," Zimmerman agreed.
As for Scherzer transitioning into a closer, that sounds like a hard pass.
