The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be among the teams interested in free agent pitcher and one-time Dodger Max Scherzer.
Scherzer threw in front of teams at Cressey Sports Performance’s pro day earlier this week, and according to Pat Ragazzo of Yankees/Mets on SI, the Dodgers were among the teams in attendance.
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Ragazzo reports other teams in attendance included the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox.
Scherzer, 40, is looking to play in his 18th MLB season in 2025. The eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young award winner made just nine appearances in 2024 with the Texas Rangers, sporting a 3.95 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.
Scherzer’s last dominant season came in 2022, when he made 23 starts, sporting a 2.29 ERA with 173 strikeouts across 145.1 innings pitched.
In 2021, Scherzer joined the Dodgers at the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal with the Washington Nationals, and had a 1.98 ERA over the final 11 games. He made the All-Star team in 2021 and finished third in Cy Young award voting.
Scherzer’s name has been generating buzz in recent weeks. The Blue Jays have been linked to the veteran pitcher, and clearly, a handful of teams are at least showing some level of interest in him.
The Dodgers being in attendance, though, is definitely interesting.
The Dodgers have made two major additions to the starting rotation this offseason in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.
Moreover, the team is expecting Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May to all return early in the 2025 season, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto remains atop the rotation, too.
And finally, earlier this week, general manager Brandon Gomes maintained the team’s interest in re-signing Clayton Kershaw, who underwent multiple surgeries this offseason and is expected to make a mid-to-late season return.
The Dodgers could just be doing their due diligence to check in on Scherzer, the future Hall of Fame pitcher. At the same time, they could be looking to make yet another major addition to the rotation, one that seems set heading into the 2025 season.
However, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made it clear the team doesn’t want to have to be in a position to “buy” at the trade deadline this season.
“My goal is to not buy in July,” Friedman has said this offseason. “I am setting that out there right now. My goal is to do everything we can right now to not buy in July. It is terrible.”
Thus, the Dodgers can never be counted out to make another addition as the offseason winds down and spring training nears.
