Max Scherzer reveals Mets focused on '2025-26' after conversations with GM Billy Eppler, owner Steve Cohen

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New York Mets GM Billy Eppler said that just because veteran ace Max Scherzer was dealt to the Texas Rangers prior to the MLB trade deadline, it did not mean the team was in rebuild mode. 

Well, Scherzer seems to think otherwise. 

"I talked to Billy," Scherzer said to The Athletic. ""I was like, ‘OK, are we reloading for 2024?’ He goes, ‘No, we’re not. Basically our vision now is for 2025-2026, ‘25 at the earliest, more like ‘26. We’re going to be making trades around that.’"

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Max Scherzer, #21 of the New York Mets, looks on against the Los Angeles Dodgers during their game at Citi Field in the Queens borough of New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

However, it is not just trades – Scherzer said the Mets do not plan on going after any top free agents this offseason as well. 

"I was like, ‘So the team is not going to be pursuing free agents this offseason or assemble a team that can compete for a World Series next year?’ He said, ‘No, we’re not going to be signing the upper-echelon guys. We’re going to be on the smaller deals within free agency. ‘24 is now looking to be more of a kind of transitory year,’" Scherzer explained. 

Scherzer said Eppler also explained that, prior to the MLB trade deadline, players that were eligible for free agency after the 2024 season were also on the trade block – not just ones like him who hit the market after this season. 

JUSTIN VERLANDER BACK WITH ASTROS AS METS UNLOAD SECOND ACE AT MLB TRADE DEADLINE

That ultimately led Justin Verlander to getting dealt back to the Houston Astros, where he won the American League Cy Young and the World Series