After spending more than $500 million, the New York Mets have effectively given up on the season. The trade of ace Max Scherzer, 39, has been finalized.안전놀이터

Local media in the United States officially reported on Tuesday that the Mets had agreed to a trade with Texas for Scherzer. The clubs had agreed to the deal, but the final straw was whether Scherzer would exercise his no-trade clause and whether the Mets would match his salary.

In return for Scherzer, the Mets get Luis Angel Acuña, the Texas Rangers’ No. 3 prospect and the younger brother of Atlanta Braves’ MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr.

The Mets signed Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal last winter, creating a one-two punch with Scherzer for the Cy Young Award.

They also signed Edwin Díaz (five years, $120 million), Senga Kodai (five years, $75 million), Brandon Nimmo (eight years, $162 million), Jeff McNeil (four years, $50 million), Jose Quintana (two years, $26 million), David Robertson (one year, $10 million), Adam Ottavino (two years, $14.5 million), and Omar Narvaez (two years, $15 million), investing $540.5 million.

However, the team struggled to a 49-54 record, good for fourth place in the National League East, and was waived at the trade deadline.

Scherzer decided to waive his trade veto and exercise his player option for 2024. The trade was finalized with the Mets paying all but $22.5 million of Scherzer’s remaining salary. The Mets will have to subsidize more than $35 million of Scherzer’s salary through next year’s payroll.

Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million free agent contract with the Mets prior to the 2022 season. The average annualized salary is $4.33 million. It was actually a two-year deal with a player option for 2024.

New York media outlets Andy Martino of SNY and John Heyman of the New York Post reported on Sept. 30 that the Mets and Texas were in serious talks to trade Scherzer, but explained that it would depend on Scherzer’s approval. The clubs appear to be done talking. It was reported that Scherzer’s trade veto was the final straw for a deal.

However, the trade veto was surprisingly easy to overcome. Martino reported, “Scherzer will waive his trade veto to head to Texas, sources said. However, there are financial issues that need to be resolved, not players to be traded. However, those issues have been resolved and Scherzer’s trade has been finalized.

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Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million free agent contract prior to the 2022 season. That’s an average annualized salary of $43.33 million. It’s technically a two-year deal with a player option for 2024. Along with teammate Justin Verlander, he”s the highest-paid player in all of baseball. Last year, he was limited to just 23 games (145⅓ innings) due to a side injury, but he posted a decent 11-5 record with a 2.29 ERA and 173 strikeouts.

This year, he’s been dealing with shoulder, back, neck, and other nagging injuries. Scherzer is starting to realize the limitations of his age. He was even suspended for 10 games for using a foreign substance. This year, he is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 19 games (107⅔ innings). His command isn’t what it used to be either, as he leads the National League with 23 home runs.

But Texas needed a big-game pitcher. Texas is 60-44 on the season and in first place in the American League West. They’re clearly seeing the benefits of their investments this year, and fall baseball is just around the corner. Second-place Houston (58-46) is just two games behind.

Texas currently ranks 16th overall with a team ERA of 4.22 and fifth in the league with a starting ERA of 3.86. They have a solid starting rotation in Nathan Iovaldi (11-3, 2.69 ERA), Dane Dunning (8-4, 3.28 ERA), and Jon Gray (6-5, 3.66 ERA), but they don’t have a clear ace.

They signed ace pitcher Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract, but he was lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow. With fall baseball on the horizon, they need a veteran ace in Scherzer, who won three Cy Young Awards and was a dominant presence in fall ball. Iovaldi’s elbow issues also linger. There was certainly a reason to bet on Scherzer.