"Nothing imminent, but teams know he can he had," according to Passan.
The 29-year-old right-hander won the 2013 American League Cy Young after finishing the season with a 21-3 record and 2.90 ERA. He is eligible for free agency after the 2014 season, and many believe that the Tigers' front office could fetch a big return by selling high on Scherzer.
But after the Tigers traded fellow right-handed Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for three players last week, some of the Scherzer buzz faded. The trade seemed to be premised on the idea the Tigers still had a strong rotation even without Fister
Detroit had Scherzer on the books for $6.73 million in 2013, which is an awfully nice price for a 20-game winner. However, Scherzer's salary is expected to take a big jump next season through arbitration.
Scherzer, along with Justin Verlander anchored arguably the best starting rotation in all of baseball this season. That staff, along with AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, guided the Tigers to the ALCS, where they fell to the eventual World Champion Boston Red Sox.
YANKEES TO RETIRE TORRE'S NUMBER
The New York Yankees plan to retire former manager Joe Torre's No. 6, the New York Daily News reports.
Torre, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Monday, managed the Bronx Bombers from 1996 to 2007, leading them to six pennants and four World Series titles. Overall, he had a 1,173-767 record with the Yankees.
No one has worn No. 6 since Torre left the team.
“We haven’t given it out for a reason,” GM Brian Cashman told the newspaper. “It’s been tucked away for quite some time. At some point, that will happen, no doubt about it. Clearly it’s already unofficially happened because we’ve left that open.”
Torre joins a prestigious list of men who have been honored by the Yankees, including Babe Ruth (3), Lou Gehrig (4), Joe DiMaggio (5), Mickey Mantle (7) and Casey Stengel (37). The team retired Mariano Rivera's No. 42 in September.
Soon the Yankees will have no single-digit numbers to give out. Once Torre is honored, only No. 2 will not be retired. That's the number worn by Derek Jeter.
METS' POST-MADOFF DECLINE
Five years ago today, Bernie Madoff was arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50-billion Ponzi scheme. New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon had significant investments with Madoff, and the financial well-being of his club soon became enmeshed with the fate of the disgraced financier.
As a result, the five years since Madoff's arrest have not been kind to the franchise, to say the least:
• At the time of the arrest, the Mets were coming off an 89-73 record and four straight winning seasons. They haven't finished above .500 since.
• The team's cumulative record over the past five seasons is 374-436.
• In 2008, the Mets drew more than 4 million fans, No. 1 among NL teams. Since then, their attendance has gone down every year despite the fact they moved into brand-new Citi Field in 2009. Their 2013 attendance (2.135 million) ranked 13th in the NL and was the team's lowest figure since 1997.
• The Mets' payroll has shrunk from nearly $138 million in 2008 to about $69 million in 2013.
NADEL WINS FRICK AWARD
Texas Rangers announcer Eric Nadel has won the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting.
The award was announced by the baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday at the winter meetings.
Nadel has been with Texas for the past 35 years. For the last 19, he has been the lead voice on Rangers radio broadcasts.
The 62-year-old Nadel called Nolan Ryan's 5,000th career strikeout on Aug. 22, 1989, and was on air for the Rangers' six playoff berths and two American League pennants. His signature home run call, "That ball is history!" is part of Rangers lore.
Nadel will be honored during the Hall of Fame awards presentation July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Contributors: Justin McGuire, The Associated Press
