No, the market for Max Scherzer is not clear in any way whatsoever. But until the day he signs his name on the dotted line, the speculation will continue to swirl, and the latest such rumors involve the New York Yankees.
There are a few things we do know. For one, the Yankees have already exceeded the $189 million luxury tax threshold, so it's clear money isn't really an issue for the ball club. Secondly, their starting rotation is perhaps the team's biggest question mark heading into 2015 because injuries kept four out of their five starters out for much of the 2014 season. Lastly, the team has reiterated they wouldn't be spending this offseason, but has yet to completely rule out bringing in a top-tier free agent.
With a clear need in the starting rotation and already over the luxury tax threshold, we ask again, will the New York Yankees pursue Max Scherzer at some point this offseason?
Hal Steinbrenner spoke to reporters on Wednesday at the owners meetings in Arizona and did not rule out another expensive free-agent signing, but he also said "there are limits" to the payroll. New York has yet to flat-out publicly deny their pursuit of Scherzer, but team president Randy Levine noted earlier in the offseason, "The chances of us bringing in a guy for six [years] and $25 million or over in my opinion is virtually none." Steinbrenner was a bit more optimistic in his assessment.
"Look, it's not over till it's over," he said, via this New York Daily News article. "We still have a full month before spring training. We're always going to continue to improve. I'm not putting a cap on [the payroll]. We've certainly filled some holes that we had. We'll keep going for the next few weeks."
Both Levine and Steinbrenner have a point. It's certainly unlikely the Yankees add such another immense contract to the books since they owe five players at least $20 million in each of the next two seasons. However, if Scherzer continues to garner little-to-no interest his price tag is going to go down as spring training get closer and closer. He wants a $200 million contract, but it's almost a foregone conclusion no MLB team will give him that kind of money, especially at 30 years of age.
"As much as the debate about Scherzer's worth can be endless, it can also be concisely summed up in this manner: Max Scherzer will be worth whatever one club, his next and future employer, determines it will pay him," Mike Bauman of MLB.com writes.
Being that there's no bidding for Scherzer, especially none close to the four-team war that took place between the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers and Giants for Jon Lester, it's not completely out of the question that he'll be forced to sign a deal less than the six-year, $155 million Lester agreed to. After all, the Tigers' ownership was not happy when Scherzer rejected their six-year, $144 million extension last offseason, and according to ESPN's Jim Bowden, Detroit is top landing spot for the right-hander. Will they be willing to offer him an even bigger contract after he rejected their initial generous offer?
The Yankees are fourth on that list behind the Tigers, Red Sox and Dodgers. Los Angeles has a full starting rotation and their management says they won't be pursuing big names as of right now. Boston needs an ace, but they've also spent a lot this offseason and didn't out-bid the Chicago Cubs for Jon Lester. Although the Tigers have a lot of concerns in their starting rotation, no talks with Scherzer have been reported and ownership could still very well be unhappy with him.
Then that leaves the Yankees.
"We're still the New York Yankees, all you guys know that," Steinbrenner added. "We know what the fans expect. We know what the town expects. We're not going to be afraid to spend money."