Mets Notebook: Team braces for future without Max Scherzer after trade to Rangers

The blockbuster trade of Max Scherzer leaves much more than a void atop the Mets’ rotation.

The team also loses a veteran presence whom teammates and manager Buck Showalter raved about after the Texas Rangers acquired the three-time Cy Young Award winner over the weekend for minor-league infielder Luisangel Acuna.

“I watch Max in here the day after he pitches,” Showalter said Sunday. “I’m here by 12, and I hear those girls and boy running down the hall with him, where he’s not Max, he’s dad. He takes them on the field when nobody’s around. I see what he and [wife] Erica meant to the organization so it’s hard, but in order to get someone like Acuna, it’s some of the things you have to do.”

Scherzer, 39, is in the second season of a three-year, $130 million contract. Sending the right-hander to Texas established the underachieving Mets (50-55) as full-blown sellers ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.

The move left Mets star Pete Alonso “shocked,” he said after Saturday’s game.

“Max wasn’t around the clubhouse and I didn’t really see him around today, so that’s when I knew it was like, ‘Oh man, this is legit. This isn’t just, like, clickbait.’ ... It’s a loss for us for sure,” Alonso said.

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo also said he was stunned by the Scherzer deal.

“We kind of knew that anything could be on the table now,” Nimmo said Saturday night. “We weren’t sure how far this might go but knew these were possibilities. I would say ‘shocked’ is definitely the right word.”

Alonso and Nimmo’s reactions resonated with Showalter.

“It’s a challenge for them and us,” Showalter said before Sunday’s win over the Nationals. “I talk to them every day whether someone’s been traded or not. Sometimes it’s just sitting down in the food room. Sometimes it’s just sitting down in the locker room before the doors open. I’ve got a feel for it. There’s a lot of things that they kind of let me in on, what they’re feeling and thinking that’s certainly not public.”

Scherzer has a 4.01 ERA this season, his worst mark in over a decade. The Rangers hope the right-hander can return to form with pitching coach Mike Maddux, who held the same role during Scherzer’s Cy Young seasons with Washington in 2016 and 2017, and bolster a rotation that lost ace Jacob deGrom to elbow surgery.

Candidates to fill Scherzer’s spot in the Mets rotation include Tylor Megill, who allowed two runs in six innings Saturday with Triple-A Syracuse, and David Peterson, who has a 5.92 ERA but has found success this month pitching in relief.

The Mets also traded closer David Robertson to the Marlins last week for a pair of minor leaguers as general manager Billy Eppler attempts to retool the organization’s farm system.

In Acuna, the Mets received one of the Rangers’ top prospects. The 21-year-old is the younger brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr.

Acuna, who had advanced to Double-A with Texas, will initially play shortstop in the Mets’ system but is expected to see time at second base and in center field as well, Eppler said Sunday.

DIAZ CONTINUES PROGRESS

Mets reliever Edwin Diaz continues to progress from the torn patellar tendon he suffered during March’s World Baseball Classic, but he’s not ready to return to a mound, Showalter said Sunday in his latest update.

Diaz hasn’t ruled out returning this season, but tests on his injured left knee indicate it still isn’t as strong as his healthy knee, according to the Mets manager.

“He’s right where he needs to be, meeting all the benchmarks,” Showalter said. “Nothing’s changed about how we’re looking at it.”

Diaz threw in the outfield last week. The 29-year-old signed a 5-year, $102 million deal with the Mets in the offseason after posting a 1.31 ERA and 32 saves as the team’s closer last year.

MARTE DOING WELL

Starling Marte is also making strides toward returning from the migraine headaches that have kept him out since July 16.

The speedy outfielder feels “a lot better” after getting a second medical opinion, Showalter said this weekend.

“I think he feels a lot more confident about having his arms around what he’s dealing with,” Showalter added Sunday. “He’s gonna go on the trip with us. Yesterday, we weren’t sure if that was gonna happen. ... He’s planning on going to Kansas City and continuing his work to get back into baseball-playing mode.”

Marte, 34, has batted .254 with five home runs in 84 games this season, his second with the Mets.