The New York Mets have traded Max Scherzer to the Rangers for Luisangel Acuña. The Mets made Scherzer the highest-paid player in league history by average annual value in 2021, and Scherzer has spent the last two seasons as the team’s second ace pitcher. Though he never pitched as well as his peak in Washington, Scherzer still swung between very good and elite in Queens and stood as the face of Steve Cohen’s big-money takeover. And now that he is gone, the Mets have a prime rotation spot to fill.
The likelihood of the sell-first Mets acquiring a starting pitcher via trade before the August 1 deadline looks low, so someone from the organization will likely fill Scherzer’s spot for the rest of the season.