It was three years ago on Thursday when the biggest piece of the once star-studded Detroit Tigers’ starting rotation left town.
On that night in early 2015, as rumors swirled that ace right-hander Max Scherzer had settled on a free-agent destination but a mystery team still was involved, former Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski responded in a text message that, “Yes,” the team’s free-agent pursuit of Scherzer could be considered inactive.
Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Washington Nationals days later, the second of three All-Star pitchers to depart Detroit in a year’s time.