Mets’ Scherzer, Verlander together for 1st time since 2014

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:08 PM CST Friday, Feb. 17, 2023

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are back together for the first time in nearly a decade.

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are back together for the first time in nearly a decade.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2023 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are back together for the first time in nearly a decade.

The pair of three-time Cy Young Award winners threw off adjacent bullpen mounds Friday at the New York Mets training complex. The 38-year-old Scherzer and Verlander, who turns 40 on Monday, were teammates on the Detroit Tigers from 2010-14.

“They’re going to make the club,” manager Buck Showalter quipped.

FILE - New York Mets pitcher Justin Verlander attends a news conference at Citi Field, Dec. 20, 2022, in New York. After the Atlanta Braves rallied for the division title and the Mets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Mets owner Steve Cohen went on an epic spending spree that included the additions of pitchers Verlander and Kodai Senga. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Showalter hasn’t announced which will start the March 30 opener at Miami.

“What’s driving them?” Showalter said. “What keeps them chasing perfection every time they cock their arm? Because they have ‘it.’ What drives? Is it a fear of failure? I don’t know. Who cares? But they got ‘it.’”

The manager wasn’t paying close attention to the bullpen sessions.

“I’m not a lurker who stands behind them like, ooh, ahh,” Showalter said. “I’m behind a wall, behind a bush, watch a little video of it.”

Scherzer, an eight-time All-Star, signed with the Mets before last season for a $130 million, three-year contract.

After winning the AL Cy Young Award and helping the Houston Astros to their second World Series title, Verlander joined New York for a two-year deal worth $86.67 million, matching Scherzer’s average salary. The nine-time All-Star fills an opening created when Jacob deGrom left for Texas.

“He’s a winning pitcher,” said Scherzer, a World Series champion with Washington in 2019. “We’re trying to win the whole thing. You need good pitchers on your staff in order to win. He fits that bill.”