The Los Angeles Dodgers are making significant progress on a deal that would send them star right-hander Max Scherzer and star shortstop Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals for a prospect-laden return, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Scherzer, 37, is 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 19 starts this season. The three-time Cy Young winner is scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
The 14-year veteran is an eight-time All-Star and has pitched the past seven seasons for Washington. Scherzer is 92-47 with a 2.80 ERA with the franchise and was 3-0 in six starts during the 2019 postseason to help the Nationals win their first World Series championship.
He won Cy Young awards in both leagues, doing so for the Detroit Tigers in 2013 when he went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and in back-to-back seasons for the Nationals — 2016 and 2017 — when he finished with 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA and 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA respectively.
Turner, an All-Star this season, is batting .322 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs this year. He exited Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning following a positive test for the coronavirus. Now in his seventh season, the 28-year-old is a career .300 hitter.