$60 Million Dollar Man! Texas Rangers Ace Earned Deferred Windfall From Nationals On Monday

The Texas Rangers and the New York Mets aren’t the only teams paying pitcher Max Scherzer in 2024

Jun 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws a second inning pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

When the Texas Rangers traded for Max Scherzer last season, the New York Mets agreed to pick up part of Scherzer’s remaining salary.

The two teams are splitting the final year of the contract Scherzer signed before the 2022 season — $30.83 million from the Mets and $12.5 million from the Rangers this season.

That’s about $43 million. But that’s not the only money Scherzer is making this season.

July 1 is the start of the fiscal year for many businesses. In Major League Baseball, it tends to lead to large payouts on deferred contracts.

In New York, for instance, July 1 is “Bobby Bonilla Day,” the day the Mets must pay Bonilla $1.19 million as part of deferred payments to settle his contract from 2000. He’ll get that payment every year through 2035.

He’s not the only one. Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. received a $3.59 million check, also part of deferred payments, from the Cincinnati Reds. Per Codify, it makes him the fifth-highest-paid Red this year.

Former Rangers slugger Chris Davis is still getting deferred payments from his final contact with the Baltimore Orioles. He receives $9.16 million this year, part of $65 million in deferred payments through 2037.

In many cases these players are getting payments on contracts they didn’t complete with those teams. That includes Scherzer.

The right-hander signed a seven-year, $210 million deal in 2015 with the Washington Nationals. His deal included deferred payments from the start. Those deferred payments didn’t stop when the Nats traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021.

That deferred money is $15 million this year. So Scherzer is actually making close to $60 million in 2024 from three different teams.