Diamondbacks, Nationals will pursue Scherzer

The Tigers could deal 21-game winner and top Cy Young Award candidate Max Scherzer, this off-season and the Diamondbacks and Nationals likely to make bids for the Tigers ace, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Rosenthal says that the Tigers are planning to install lefty Drew Smyly in their rotation next season and they will try to deal either Scherzer, who is one year away from free agency, or fellow righty Rick Porcello, who has two years of team control remaining.

Even with  limited steam control left, Scherzer is likely to bring the Tigers more value in return on the trade market.

The Tigers ace had the best record in the American League in 2013 at 21-3, and his 2.90 ERA over 214 1/3 was the fifth best in the league among qualified starters, putting him at the top of the list of possible Cy Young candidates for the season.  Porcello posted a 4.32 ERA over 177 innings in 2013.

In addition to getting a top-of-the-rotation arm, any club that lands Scherzer will almost certainly receive a compensation draft pick for 2015 if they cannot re-sign him. Rosenthal believes both Arizona and Washington will prefer to target Scherzer over Rays ace David Price due to a lower price tag.

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