Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Could be Potential Fit for Mets Cy Young Winner

If the Philadelphia Phillies keep winning, they could enhance their case in getting a Mets Cy Young winner to waive his no-trade clause.

Matthew Postins

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies have an attainable goal as June prepares to end — a National League Wild Card berth.

The Phillies enter Wednesday’s action just three games back of the last Wild Card spot. One, perhaps two moves, could put the Phillies in better position to defend their National League crown come October.

It might take a big move. It might take the biggest move the Phillies could make. The Phillies would also need that target to want to come to Philly.

So what about Max Scherzer?

MLB.com reported that Scherzer might be willing to waive his no-trade clause under the right circumstances. He has done this before, back in 2021 when he waived that clause with Washington so he could be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a potential title drive that sputtered.

So Scherzer is driving the bus here. He would have to want out of New York. He would have to approve the Phillies as a destination. The Mets would have to be happy with the haul they receive in the deal. They would also, probably have to absorb at least some of the cost of Scherzer’s contract.

The Mets are going nowhere in the NL East. They’re looking up at the Phillies and 16 games back of the division (8.5 games back of the Wild Card). Things are so bad team owner Steve Cohen is having a press conference on Wednesday for no specific reason.

The Phillies as a destination might be palatable. Quite a few teams are in contention, but only a few have legitimate shots at getting Scherzer a second ring. Whether the Phillies are that team is going to be up to Scherzer.

But, Philadelphia has made a compelling case the last month that it is on the upswing. The Phillies won seven of their last 10. They can continue to build a case with a strong July that puts them on the inside of the Wild Card race.

The Phillies’ minor-league system has something the Mets would likely want — young pitching. Per MLB Pipeline three of the Phillies’ Top 5 prospects are right-handed pitchers who are all at Double-A — Andrew Painter, Mick Abel and Griff McGarry. Painter was considered a Phillies rotation option this year before injuring his arm. He could be back in August.

As for the money, well, this isn’t your typical rent-a-player situation. Scherzer is making $43.3 million this year. He has a player option for the same salary in 2024 and given that he’ll in his age 39 season he might be more likely to use the option. If the Phillies make the deal, they’ll have to assume some of that debt and convince the Mets to cover the rest as a salary dump.

What do the Phillies get? Well, Scherzer hasn’t quite been the three-time Cy Young winner this season — he is 7-2 with a 3.95 ERA. But, he would top an already-solid rotation that includes Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijan Walker and Ranger Suárez. Plus, it would give Philly one of the most experienced postseason pitchers in the game, one who has started 22 games, appeared in 27, has a 7-7 record and a 3.58 ERA.

If the Phillies are looking for an over-the-top move that will require them to spend capital but get a proven Cy Young-level pitcher in return, they can’t do much better than Scherzer.

But, he’ll clearly need to WANT to be in Philadelphia before anything can happen.

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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.

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