Max Scherzer chase winding down
— -- Free-agent pitcher Max Scherzer is nearing agreement on a multiyear contract with an unidentified club, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com Sunday.
The source said Scherzer is still in active discussions with two teams and is "getting close'' to an agreement. Multiple media outlets reported Scherzer is discussing seven-year contracts and said the Washington Nationals are one of the two finalists to sign him.
According to the Washington Post, the Nationals are the favorite to land Scherzer and are "very close" to a deal.
A source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that the Nationals won't have the financial flexibility to sign Scherzer unless they have a trade in place to move starter Jordan Zimmermann and possibly shortstop Ian Desmond. As of Saturday, Stark reports, the Nationals did not have trades in place for either Zimmermann or Desmond.
Scherzer, 30, is a career 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA in seven seasons with Arizona and Detroit. He won the 2013 American League Cy Young Award and has made the All-Star team in each of the past two seasons.
During the winter meetings in San Diego last month, agent Scott Boras gave indications that he is seeking a record payout for Scherzer. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw ($215 million), Detroit's Justin Verlander ($180 million) and Seattle's Felix Hernandez ($175 million) have signed the three biggest deals by starting pitchers in baseball history. But they all agreed to extensions before hitting the open market.
"All the prominent pitchers who've signed were not free-agent players," Boras said in San Diego. "If you put a pitcher like Kershaw into the free agent market, you're going to get a much different calibration and value. I'm not sure Kershaw's [contract] is relevant.''
Reports from multiple media outlets Sunday said the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tigers -- high-profile clubs that have been linked to Scherzer in speculation throughout the winter -- are not among the finalists to sign him.
Scherzer has spent the past five seasons in Detroit after he was traded there by the Arizona Diamondbacks following the 2009 season.
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