Tigers agree one-year deal with pitching ace Scherzer

Reuters
Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (37) pitches during the third inning in game two of the American League Championship Series baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Ace pitcher Max Scherzer avoided arbitration shortly before Friday's deadline by agreeing to a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers for the 2014 season, the Major League Baseball team said. No financial details were revealed by the club but media reports estimated the deal to be worth $15.525 million. Scherzer, the American League's Cy Young Award winner last year, will become a free agent after his 2014 campaign and the Tigers hope to lock him into a long-term deal. The 29-year-old earned $6.725 million in a breakout season in 2013 when he compiled a 21-3 record with a 2.90 earned run average and 240 strikeouts. Scherzer led the American League with 21 wins and an .875 winning percentage and helped his team reach the AL championship series where they lost four games to two to the Boston Red Sox. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Gene Cherry)