The Phillies were among those who had a scout in attendance at a recent throwing session for three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, according to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated: 

Ragazzo went on to report that the Mets “have some level of interest” in Scherzer on a one-year deal. The future Hall of Famer, of course, made 42 starts for the Mets between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

As for the Phillies, the guess here is that this was just due diligence. While you can never have enough starting pitching depth, the Phillies already have arguably the best starting pitching staff in baseball with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo. No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter is expected to make his MLB debut at some point this summer. And the Phillies signed swing-man Joe Ross to a one-year/$4 million deal in December, giving them additional starting pitching depth.

It’s unclear at this stage what the 40-year-old Scherzer has left in the tank. Scherzer didn’t make his season debut for the Texas Rangers last season until June 23 as he worked his way back from offseason surgery to fix a herniated disk in his back. It was hardly smooth sailing from there, as he had two other injured list stints because of right shoulder fatigue and a left hamstring strain. He did still post a respectable 3.95 ERA, but did so over only nine starts. He’s one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, but it’s fair to wonder if after logging more than 2,800 innings in his MLB career if Scherzer has hit a wall.

There is a prior connection between Scherzer and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. While Scherzer began his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he became a superstar during the five seasons he spent with the Detroit Tigers, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2013. Dombrowski was the general manager of the Tigers during that period, and under his leadership Detroit offered a six-year/$144 million deal to Scherzer prior to the 2014 season. He rejected it, played out his contract year and left in free agency to sign a seven-year/$210 million deal that included deferrals with the Washington Nationals. It’s unclear what terms Scherzer and Dombrowski are on at this point, though the eight-time All-Star is one of the greatest businessman in MLB history, so he’d probably get over any hurt feelings if the right offer presented itself.

Again, though, don’t expect that offer to come from the Phillies. Between where they are at from a luxury tax penalty sense and just the lack of open starts in their rotation, they don’t really make sense as a landing spot for Scherzer.

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