While the Philadelphia Phillies have yet to get momentum off the starting block in the free-agency race, their divisional rivals are getting better.
On Monday, the Mets finalized a deal to acquire three-time Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million deal — setting an MLB record for highest average annual salary at $43.3 million.
The 37-year-old is still one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, which he proved during the second half of the 2021 season after he was traded from the Nationals to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 11 starts with the NL West club, Scherzer went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA and a WHIP of 0.820. It further padded an already impressive season that ended with a 15-4 record, 2.46 ERA, and an MLB-best 0.864 WHIP.
Now he joins Jacob deGrom in what could very well be the fiercest 1-2 punch of starting pitchers in Major League Baseball — the biggest move yet over a four-day stretch that saw New York also pick up Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar and Starling Marte.
Scherzer has enjoyed plenty of success against the Phillies during his eight-year stint with the Washington Nationals. In 24 career starts against Philadelphia, he’s 14-4 with a 2.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.989.
The oddsmakers have certainly made a note of what the Mets have done over the weekend as their odds to win the 2022 World Series were cut in half from +2200 to +1100,, according to Oddschecker — leaving the Phillies in the dust as the third-favorite NL East team to win it all next year.
Updated 2022 World Series odds
- Los Angeles Dodgers: +600
- Houston Astros: +750
- New York Yankees: +1000
- Chicago White Sox: +1100
- New York Mets: +1100
- Atlanta Braves: +1200
- Tampa Bay Rays: +1400
- Toronto Blue Jays: +1400
- San Diego Padres: +1700
- Boston Red Sox: +1800
- Milwaukee Brewers: +1800
- San Francisco Giants: +2000
- St. Louis Cardinals: +3000
- Los Angeles Angels: +4000
- Philadelphia Phillies: +4000
- Detroit Tigers: +5000
- Seattle Mariners: +5000
- Cincinnati Reds: +6000
- Oakland Athletics: +6000
- Cleveland Guardians: +6600
- Kansas City Royals: +7500
- Minnesota Twins: +8000
- Miami Marlins: +10000
- Chicago Cubs: +15000
- Texas Rangers: +15000
- Washington Nationals: +15000
- Colorado Rockies: +20000
- Arizona Diamondbacks: +25000
- Baltimore Orioles: +50000
- Pittsburgh Pirates: +50000
