The Chicago White Sox are interested in bolstering their starting rotation this offseason with a right-handed power pitcher, and are kicking the tires on former AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports that while the Pale Hose are considered a long shot to land Scherzer due to deeper-pocketed teams competing for his services, they have already been in contact with his representatives.
Last season Scherzer went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP for the Tigers, and he's compiled a 39-8 record over the last two seasons. He's been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons and finished in the Top 5 of Cy Young voting in 2014.
Should the White Sox be able to land Scherzer, they'd not only swipe one of MLB's top pitchers away from a division rival, they'd pair him with one of the game's top left-handed starters Chris Sale. The latter finished third in AL Cy Young voting in 2014, posting a 12-4 record with a 2.17 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 10.8 strikeout-per-nine ratio.
If the White Sox can't strike a deal with Scherzer, Heyman wrote they are also looking into lower-tier options like James Shields and Ervin Santana. Like Scherzer in Detroit, Shields has headed up the Royals' rotation for the last two seasons and was a big reason they were able to reach the World Series this year.
Santana posted his first winning season since 2010 with the Braves last year, going 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.306 WHIP. Santana's career has been up-and-down, but 2014 was his second consecutive campaign with a sub-4.00 ERA, and fourth such season in five years.
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