The New York Mets have a lot of talent in their starting rotation.
They just signed reigning American League Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander to a lucrative multi-year deal; and they also brought in Japanese ace Kodai Senga.
However, the Opening Day start is going to an old friend, a three-time Cy Young winner and one of the best pitchers they had last year: Max Scherzer.
Mad Max. Opening Day. #LGM pic.twitter.com/dHs9w18UeG
— New York Mets (@Mets) March 24, 2023
Verlander would have been as good of a choice as Scherzer, but the team wanted to respect seniority and time with the team.
Scherzer only has one year, but it was a stellar one.
In 2022, he posted a 2.29 ERA in 145.1 innings.
That was enough for him to post a 4.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) campaign.
Two stints on the injured list with oblique strains robbed him the chance to rack up innings and build a Cy Young case, but on a per-inning basis, he was one of the best starters in the National League.
At 38 years old, he remains a top-notch starter and a true ace.
He is trying to help the Mets win their first World Series trophy since 1986, and the second of his career after he touched the sky in 2019 with the Washington Nationals.
The Mets will need Scherzer to stay in one piece for most of the season if they want to fend off the advances of the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East division.
The talented veteran will try to give the Mets a victory to start off their campaign, against reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara and the Miami Marlins.
NEXT: Daniel Vogelbach Makes A Hilarious Pledge For 2023
