Last spring, Max Scherzer turned down a $144 million extension from the Detroit Tigers. Given the absurd contract he got from the Washington Nationals (seven years, $210 million, half deferred), he ended up in a better place.
However, the Tigers and owner Mike Iltich never even tried to top their initial offer, per Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.
After Scherzer said no to that sum, sources say Ilitch never became fully re-engaged in trying to retain him — financially and perhaps emotionally, as well.
AND THE PLOT THICKENS!
Or not really. Morosi mentions a few other situations where Iltich stepped in after the calendar turned and rescued a Scott Boras client from free agent purgatory. None of the four players mentioned by Morosi really retained their level of stardom after being signed by the Tigers.
-Ivan Rodriguez was a four-time All-Star, but his OPS dropped to critical lows following 2004, his first season in Detroit.
-Magglio Ordonez was the AL batting champion and MVP runner-up in 2007 with the Tigers, but the rest of his career in Detroit was marked with injuries and erratic on-field results.
-Johnny Damon was thoroughly mediocre in 2010, his lone year as a Tiger.
-Prince Fielder was such a mistake that the Tigers unloaded him after just two seasons.
So maybe Iltich learned his lesson and *was* right to not give Scherzer a record contract for a right-handed starter. After all, Detroit still owes Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera a total of $410 million (yes, that’s an accurate number) over the next decade.
