The Detroit Tigers and Max Scherzer have tabled contract talks until after the season and that could open up trade options for the team, as the NY Yankees have been shopping Ichiro Suzuki and with the Tigers needing outfield help, it could be an move for the two sides, while both of those teams along with the Toronto Blue Jays, LA Dodgers and Orioles have looked at Nick Franklin as a potential target with the Seattle Mariners.
Trades don't usually go down before the season starts and in this case that likely will remain true, but now that the talks between Scherzer and the Tigers have been tabled, anything is possible. The pitcher has Scott Boras as an agent and that means he will be looking to get every dollar he can and that could lead him to the Yankees and eventually he could end up in pinstripes. According to ESPN.com, the Tigers and Scherzer could not agree on a new deal after extension talks failed and before they broke down, there was a deal being talked about that would have made him one of the highest paid pitchers in the game.
Scherzer won the Cy Young last season while going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and now he is looking to strike gold with a pay day, but with the Tigers already locking up Justin Verlander and having Miguel Cabrera as well, there is only so much money to go around. Scherzer is now betting on himself, as he signed a one year deal with over $15 million to avoid arbitration and now he could end up hitting the free agent market next season. Scherzer wants to get paid like other top pitchers, including Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke, who all make over $20 million per season.
Scherzer is 29 years old and he could just be scratching the surface of his potential after having a great season in 2013. The Yankees upgraded their pitching this offseason by adding Masahiro Tanaka to the rotation and they are hoping that CC Sabathia can come back after his rough season last year and on top of that they are adding Michael Pineda to the rotation and that could make the team very strong from one through five, Heading down the line though the team knows they will need to add more and Scherzer could be a target if he hits the market.
The Tigers looked like an option for Nick Franklin with the Mariners after the team lost Jose Iglesias, but after picking up Alex Gonzalez that will not be needed. Franklin has been mentioned in trade rumors all spring and he could get moved heading into Opening Day. The Dodgers and the Blue Jays could use upgrades at second base and that could be a fit if the Mariners decide to make a move.
