(Jupiter, FL) How much interest did the St. Louis Cardinals have in signing free agent and hometown kid Max Scherzer over this past off-season? The right-hander is staying mum.
“I really don’t like talking about other teams in the talks,” said Scherzer following his start against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. “I think it’s unfair to ever discuss negotiations and talks that happened between teams,” said Scherzer. “Now I’m here in the Nationals. Those things are private and I hope they respect that as well.”
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Scherzer signed a seven year-$210 million contract with Washington but did admit to having that boyhood dream realized.
“I’m from there so obviously that was a team I would’ve really liked to go to but at the end of the day, I’m a National,” he said. “I wanted to be a National. That’s why I’m here.”
Now Scherzer is looking forward to competing in the rivalry which has grown between St. Louis and Washington the last few seasons. “I would say so, they’ve had some great games against each other. Both extremely talented teams.”
And the National League offers something Max missed while pitching in the American League–hitting.
“The biggest thing for me is I get to compete at the plate, that’s something I’m looking forward to,” said Scherzer. “Swinging a stick, I might not be the best hitter and I realize that–I’ve got slider bat speed. For me, it’s another way to compete against the other pitcher, if I can be a better hitter than the other team’s pitcher then it helps out our team, so that’s another way to win.”
Provided he stays on the current schedule, Scherzer could face the Cardinals when the Nationals return to Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday, March 25th.
photo credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
