Max Scherzer and the Mets Agree on Massive Three-Year Deal - The New York Times

Showing off the team’s deep pockets, the Mets agreed to give Scherzer, a 37-year-old right-handed pitcher, a three-year contract that pays him $43.3 million a season.

On Monday, the Mets and Max Scherzer, a three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, agreed to a record-setting deal that would pair him with a two-time winner of the Cy Young, Jacob deGrom, and that may usher in a new era for a franchise that has been disappointing in recent seasons.

The average annual salary of $43.3 million will shatter the previous record set by Gerrit Cole, who signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees before the 2020 season.

Before his final season with the Detroit Tigers in 2014, Scherzer turned down a six-year, $144 million contract extension.

He bet on himself and a year later he signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Nationals.

His deal with the Mets also calls for an opt-out after the second year of the contract and a full no-trade clause.

Then on Monday, they lured Scherzer, pushing their estimated 2022 payroll to a franchise record $266 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts — the highest in Major League Baseball at the moment and far past the existing $210 million luxury tax threshold.

(Semien reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $175 million contract with the Texas Rangers over the weekend.).