Max Scherzer collected his 3,000th career strikeout in Sunday's start, an eight-inning, one-hit gem against the San Diego Padres. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Max Scherzer drops hint about possibly staying with Dodgers

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 9/13/21

Max Scherzer is a free agent at the end of the 2021 season, but he dropped a pretty big hint Sunday that he might want to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scherzer collected his 3,000th career strikeout in Sunday’s start, an eight-inning, one-hit gem against the San Diego Padres. After the game, he said he hoped to be present to see Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw collect his 3,000th career strikeout as well.

#Dodgers Max Scherzer said Clayton Kershaw shared some nice words after the outing.

"Hopefully I'm here and be able to watch his 3,000th strikeout as well," Scherzer said.

Kershaw is at 2653.

— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) September 12, 2021

Kershaw is probably looking at another two or three seasons to hit that mark, depending on his health. In other words, if Scherzer wants to be on Kershaw’s team when the lefty achieves the milestone, Scherzer is going to have to re-sign with the Dodgers.

There’s no doubt that Scherzer will be in high demand as a free agent this offseason, with at least one other California team apparently interested. The Dodgers should have the finances to make it work, and they’ll definitely be in contention. Maybe Scherzer really does want to stay right where he is.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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