Report: Washington Nationals complete deal for Scherzer

The Washington Nationals have reportedly completed a seven-year contract for free-agent pitcher Max Scherzer.

Terms of Scherzer's deal weren't available, according to the Washington Post, but the newspaper reports it's almost sure to be worth more than the $160 million he turned down last spring when he was with the Detroit Tigers.

The 30-year-old right-hander began his MLB career with the Diamondbacks organization after being a first-round draft pick in 2006. He broke into the majors in 2008 with Arizona and also played for the Diamondbacks in 2009 before being dealt to Detroit.

Scherzer won the 2013 AL Cy Young Award. That season he compiled a 21-3 mark with a 2.90 ERA. Last season, he went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA.

With the addition of Scherzer, assuming the Nationals don't deal away any of their top-line projected starters for 2015, Washington will field a rotation that will include Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister.

The Nationals had the best ERA in baseball among starting staffs last year at 3.04. They are also coming off a season in which they won 96 games and finished first in the NL East.

Over his career, Scherzer has posted a 91-50 record and a 3.58 ERA in 207 games (198 starts).

[SportsNetwork.com]