Mets stars react to 'shocking' Max Scherzer trade, discuss what future could hold
Prior to the Mets' 11-6 loss to the Washington Nationals, the team made their biggest move of the season by trading away star pitcher Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers.
While the Scherzer trade talks had been going on for several days, SNY's Andy Martino noted, the move still sent shockwaves through the clubhouse.
"Honestly, shocked. Yeah, shocked," Pete Alonso said in reaction to the trade after the game.
Alonso went on to speak highly of Scherzer and his time in New York, saying losing a player of that caliber is a big loss.
"I mean, there was a lot of rumblings about it before the game and, I mean, it felt kind of real -- obviously wasn't official," Alonso said. "Max wasn't around the clubhouse and I didn't really see him around today, so that's when I know it was like, 'Oh man, this is legit.' This isn't just clickbait or anything like that that you see. ... This is legit then, if I haven't seen him around.
"This is a loss for us, for sure. I mean, obviously, having a guy who's gonna be a Hall of Famer get traded away stinks. He's a great friend of mine, he's a great teammate. Yeah, Texas is really gonna love having him."
Alonso and the rest of the Mets have now come to the realization that anyone could be traded after someone with a no-trade clause like Scherzer still got dealt.
"That's the natural inclination for sure," Alonso said. "Am I correct that Max had a no-trade clause? I mean, if a guy with a no trade clause can get traded, then anyone can. Yeah,it's a strange feeling, for sure."
Reporters asked Alonso if he's thought about the possibility of getting traded himself. He reiterated his desire to stay in New York long term, and mentioned that it would be just as shocking as when he found out Scherzer had been traded.
"I've, like, briefly thought about it, but it's just one of those things -- it's out of my control, it's whatever," Alonso said. "I mean, everything's obviously up to the higher-ups. But I feel comfortable here, it's a great place to play, it's a great city. I mean, it would be kind of shocked -- just as shocked as I was when Max got traded."
"I'm shocked to lose Max, very surprised," he added.
Brandon Nimmo agreed with Alonso that the Scherzer trade came as a shock, unsure how big of moves the Mets would make after trading David Roberston earlier in the week.
"Yeah, I mean, I think 'shocked' is good," Nimmo said. "We kind of knew that anything could be on the table now. We weren't sure how far this might go, but knew that these were possibilities. I would say that 'shocked' is definitely the right word. More of it actually going though -- not that, like, didn't know it was a possibility."
Nimmo was asked if he's spoken to the team brass about what the future of the season and the team is going to look like, noting that the Scherzer deal "is the result" of the Mets' struggles this year.
"I'm sure Steve [Cohen] and Billy [Eppler] and I will have that conversation at some point," Nimmo said. "I can't really speculate as to next year right now. But as far as this year goes, yeah, we're getting rid of some guys. The guys that are left are going to have to battle and be willing to fight every day, and we're going to have to win a lot of different ways.
"You know it's not going to be much different then how it was in the beginning of the year. We've been trying to find ways to win this whole year and haven't been doing it enough so this is the result. You have to be able to accept that and own it. Now we'll see where we're at moving forward."
Nimmo mentioned that he was able to speak with Scherzer briefly before the game, and that the team will miss having a "great leader" like him around the clubhouse.
"I did, yes. I did. I got to say goodbye to him," Nimmo said. "Thankful that I got that because him and I have developed a good relationship over these last couple years. He was a great teammate and a great leader. I will miss him."
Francisco Lindor also praised Scherzer's competitiveness and teacher-mentality for the Mets during his time there, noting that he learned a lot from the future Hall of Fame pitcher.
"It's one of those where, he's such a good teammate that you're definitely going to miss him," Lindor said. "He's a great competitor. I learned a lot from him. He was a teacher here, he taught a lot of guys a lot of stuff. And then after that is focus on the game, it's something that you don't want to happen. We knew we had a game so we had to focus."
Lindor was asked if the trade caused the team to lose focus, and while it definitely played a role, he said that players need to be able to seperate the business and game aspects of baseball at all times.
"No excuse, today we went out there and tried to play as hard as we could and try to win a ballgame," Lindor said. "With that being said, yeah, there were a lot of conversations in the clubhouse -- but that's not the reason why we lost today. As professional baseball players, we need to have the ability to separate business, the game, relationships. We need to have different arenas. We can't just stay in the past."
He added that he was also able to speak with Scherzer during the rain delay, as the two spoke briefly in the training room.
"I did see Max, and we were in the rain delay so we had a lot of time to see him and talk to him," Lindor said.
"Yeah, we're definitely going to miss him, I'm gonna miss him. He's a great teammate."
The shortstop has nine more seasons left on his 10-year, $341 million deal that he signed after being acquired from Cleveland in 2021, and was asked what the future might hold for him and the organization. He said that he spoke with Eppler after the Robertson trade to get a better understanding of the moves, and referred to this as a transitional phase, not a rebuild for the Mets.
"At first I didn't quite understand what was happening, however, I did have a conversation with Billy," Lindor said. "He clarified that from Robertson, we got two top prospects that could be up sooner rather than later. And for Max, even though the trade has not been done yet, it's not fully approved, the guy that's been talked about is a really good player. It's in Double-A, and once again, he could be up here sooner rather than later.
"I don't call it a rebuild, I call it a transition. I'm here for a long time, I'm here to try to win championships. But also have an amazing organization and be part of an amazing organization. It's one of those where, you want to win and you want to win now, but you also need to have stability. From my understanding, that's what I'm seeing right now. That's kind of how I take it, that's the view. With that being said, I'm still very optimistic with our season still."
Like Alonso and Nimmo, Lindor acknowledged that more trades are likely on the horizon. Although, he is still trying to look at the rest of the season with optimism.
"From what I've seen, yes," Lindor said. "With the move that they just made, yeah, it wouldn't shock me if there's more. It's disappointing that we are in this point right now in the season and we haven't performed to our level and we have to see teammates go. However, I'm still very optimistic with what we have here. We have to come out every single day and focus on winning, day in and day out."
