Max Scherzer on Jacob deGrom: 'Would Have Loved to Pitch With Him More'

Mets ace Max Scherzer discussed the departure of Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers, as well as the addition of Justin Verlander.

Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are no longer teammates after deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers in the offseason.

On Wednesday, Scherzer revealed to reporters that he spoke with deGrom after he signed with the Rangers. He also added that he wished they could've pitched together beyond one season, but he understands his decision and believes deGrom will thrive in Texas.

"I talked to him once he signed, talked to him, FaceTime him, kind of catch up and everything," Scherzer said. "Would have loved to pitch with him more. I think the world of him. When he's on the mound, it's incredible what he can do, never seen anything like it. Wish him nothing but the best. Think he's going to go out there an absolutely kill it, and that's the way I see it."

Once deGrom left, the Mets went out and landed one of Scherzer's former teammates in AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. 

Scherzer and Verlander pitched together in the Detroit Tigers' starting rotation for five seasons from 2010-2014. And it's safe to say that Scherzer is excited to pitch with Verlander again as the 1-2 punch atop the Mets' rotation.

"It is exciting," he said. "I'm so lucky over the course of my career to have pitched with such great pitchers. I'm lucky, from my time to Arizona to Detroit to D.C., with the Dodgers and here pitching. My entire career I've pitched with great starting pitchers. I've pitched with [Verlander] before, I've gotten to learn from him in the past. It's really going to be interesting pitching with him again. I know we've pitched together for five years, but actually we've been apart for eight now.

"His experiences there in Houston, it's going to be real fun to start comparing notes. And looking at the game, the game has evolved too since we've played together. Just different, how swing paths changed, and so kinda how we both see the game now, it's going to be real fascinating to see his mind on how he attacks different guys. Things that work for kind of each of us, things that make him successful and things that make me successful and see where things line up."

While Scherzer acknowledged the signing of Verlander as a significant move, he also cited the various other signings the Mets made to improve their club in the offseason.

"When you get a guy like [Verlander], what he can do, obviously he's still pitching at an extremely high level, it makes your ball club better," Scherzer said. "Obviously then it goes on from there, from what Steve [Cohen] and the front office did, they continued to make moves, bringing in [Kodai] Senga as well, [Jose] Quintana. As much as bringing in [Verlander] helps the ball club, you know, we had a lot of free agents and we had to address a lot of different holes, bringing back Edwin [Diaz] as well.

"A lot of free agent moves on the pitching side for us. That's what makes it exciting, is that we got some new faces in here but a chance to all blend it back together together. Got a good chance to really go out there and do something special this year."

So, while the departure of deGrom was a key loss, the Mets seemingly made up for it by bringing in Verlander, among other moves.

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