Scherzer speaks out on baseball's growing free agency issue

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Max Scherzer had been through this before, four winters ago, and though his free agency saga still ended with a huge contract from a franchise he embraces, he also knew the process took longer and included more frustrating developments than he believed it should have included.

So when the subject of Bryce Harper's ongoing slog through free agency comes up, Scherzer has no trouble speaking both passionately and intelligently about the situation. And what does he have to say about it all? His thoughts can be condensed into two statements.

First of all, he's frustrated.

Second of all, he's not surprised one bit.

"When you take what's happened over several offseasons now - and going through the free agent process myself - you realize that teams go to the media and teams probably speak that they don't want you," Scherzer said. "I knew, with Bryce coming into free agency, that this was going to continue. And we continue to see teams discuss not wanting players. To me, this seems only to be happening in baseball, where teams are making public statements that they don't want top-notch players. To me, that's a problem within the sport."

As pitchers and catchers report across Arizona and Florida while Harper, Manny Machado and more than a dozen other prominent free agents remain unsigned, players in every clubhouse are speaking out about the state of the sport they love. And given Scherzer's experience both as a prominent free agent himself prior to the 2015 season and his stature as a recently elected member of the Players' Association executive subcommittee, the Nationals ace is particularly qualified to speak out.

We tend to forget about it now because he got $210 million from the Nationals, but Scherzer did not enjoy a quick and painless free agency process. For months, he heard teams (including the Nationals) publicly and privately declare their lack of interest in signing him. He always assumed his hometown Cardinals would be among the most motivated bidders, yet they never did enter the mix. And when the Nats finally did come through with their offer, it was the final week of January.

Four years later, the notion of a late-January deal sounds quaint. Harper and Co. are guaranteed of signing no earlier than the second half of February, and at this point plenty of observers around the game won't be surprised if this drags on into March.

Whatever hope there was of a return to normalcy after last winter's similar slog has dissipated into thin air, leaving more and more players to question why it's happening and what to do about it.

"It's not just Bryce, but there's other free agents as well. And now this is consecutive offseasons," Scherzer said. "Now you've got to start searching for what the answers are, and why is this continuing to happen. Because it should not be happening. No other sport has this in their free agency. Why is this exclusive to baseball? You've got to start looking at different reasons of why is this happening."

Scherzer has plenty of theories, but he mentioned two in particular. First, he decried what he sees as a growing trend for team executives to openly discuss their free agency plans as soon as the season ends. That includes public declarations of no interest in certain high-priced players.

"One thing I think that is going on, that's pervasive, is the amount of commentary from club officials and everybody that make their knowledge public of what they're trying to do in the offseason," he said. "It just feels like teams are negotiating through the media. To me, that's one of the key driving forces in why we're seeing a slower market than usual. We know every intention of every single team. It's something that other leagues consider tampering, and they don't tolerate that."

Scherzer also criticized the increased number of Major League Baseball clubs who are openly stating they don't intend to try to win in the upcoming season. While he acknowledges it's fair for a handful of teams to take that kind of rebuilding approach - no one would suggest the Orioles should be spending big money on free agents following a 115-loss season and front office and coaching staff overhaul - he believes there are too many others with a shot at contending that are refusing to improve their rosters.

"The one fundamental that's just not acceptable is the amount of acceptability to just lose," he said. "And not try to win as a whole. There's going to be some teams that aren't in a position to necessarily win the World Series, I understand that. When you have over a third of the league trying to do that, that's a problem."

To be sure, there are several franchises that were on the fringes of contention last season but didn't spend money to add to their rosters this winter and in some cases actually dumped salary. The Pirates, Diamondbacks and Mariners come to mind.

But the stagnant free agent market isn't simply a byproduct of that. Front offices are getting smarter and recognizing that free agents in their 30s aren't such great investments. Some teams look at the top contenders in their respective divisions and rationally determine they have no realistic chance of finishing in first place, so why spend big bucks just to try to get into the crapshoot that is the one-game wild card playoff?

This isn't a purely black-and-white issue, and this isn't a case of the players being 100 percent right and the owners being 100 percent wrong. But it is a problem, of that everyone in the sport agrees.

For now, all the players can do is continue to speak out and hope the two sides can find ways to correct the problem. And for now, Scherzer can also relish the fact he's employed by one of the few franchises that spent significant money this winter in an attempt to chase the October glory that has eluded it since he arrived.

"Very appreciative to have an ownership who has been aggressive in free agency and continues to make moves and push the financial resources onto the table to be in a win-now mode and do whatever it takes to win," he said. "We're not seeing that across the league. So for me to be in a clubhouse and be a part of a team and an organization that does that, right now I'm very thankful."