Philadelphia Phillies Showing Interest in Future Hall of Fame Free Agent
![Jul 14, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Jul 14, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5624,h_3163,x_0,y_58/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_phillies/01jjd1g05ggh9h66m8j4.jpg)
One of the goals the Philadelphia Phillies had coming into the offseason was to reinforce their starting rotation depth.
They had put together an incredibly impressive quartet of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez; the Cy Young Award runner-up, a reliable workhorse and two All-Stars.
But, their No. 5 slot was a mess in 2024, and when Suarez came back from the injured list, he wasn’t as efficient either.
Wanting to ensure they had enough starting pitching to get through this year and upgrade compared to Taijuan Walker, the team made a solid addition by acquiring Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins in a trade.
The Phillies are hoping he can bounce back in 2025 after an injury-plagued campaign resulted in underwhelming production last season. If he can return to the form he showed in 2023, Philadelphia will sport arguably the best rotation in baseball outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Eventually, they are going to have top prospect Andrew Painter in the mix as well. The team is reportedly targeting some time in the summer, possibly July, as the point to unleash him at the Major League level.
Alas, teams can never have too much starting pitching, and the Phillies may not be done adding to the mix.
As shared by Pat Ragazzo of On SI, Philadelphia was one of eight teams in attendance for a throwing session at a pro day done by Max Scherzer at Cressey Sports Performance earlier this week.
His former team, the Texas Rangers, were not in attendance, but the Phillies' rivals, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, both were. The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Dodgers were the other franchises who sent representation to the session.
Sources: free agent RHP Max Scherzer threw in front of teams at Cressey Sports Performance’s pro day earlier in the week
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) January 24, 2025
I’m told Scouts liked what they saw: Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox were among those present
Scherzer has been in…
Scherzer would certainly provide Philadelphia with some more insurance for their rotation.
Landing with a team that deep would likely be best for him at this point in his career since he wouldn’t be counted on to carry a full workload.
Reaching the 30-start mark only once in the previous six campaigns, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is no longer the inning-eating bulldog he was previously in his career. He made only nine starts in 2024, so counting on him to pitch every fifth day may be unrealistic at this point.
Where the Phillies could be looking to deploy Scherzer is the bullpen as another swingman with Joe Ross, or they could use his electric stuff to help replace Jeff Hoffman and potentially Carlos Estevez at the back end of the bullpen.
But, being a relief pitcher isn’t something that the future Hall of Famer is currently interested in doing.