McAdam: Max Scherzer offers 'walk year' advice for Chris Sale and Rick Porcello

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Max Scherzer has been where Chris Sale and Rick Porcello are now.

In 2014, Scherzer, then with the Detroit Tigers, was entering his final season before free agency loomed. Dave Dombrowski — irony alert — offered him a long-term contract extension in the spring, which was summarily rejected.

Scherzer then left after the 2014 season and signed an even bigger deal with Washington Nationals -- seven years and $210 million. The gamble ultimately paid off.

But the fact that Scherzer bet on himself and won big isn't the point here. It's that Scherzer engaged in negotiations throughout that spring, then, after rejecting the deal, went on to lead the American League in wins (18) while making 33 starts and posting a 3.15 ERA.

There was no hangover effect, nothing distracting him from what he needed to be doing. Scherzer just continued to do his job every five days.

As team chairman Tom Werner revealed earlier this month, the Sox have already engaged in some preliminary contracts talks with Sale. Porcello, according to a baseball source, has not yet been approached. But if the 2019 season begins with neither signed to extensions, the Sox will have 40 percent of their starting rotation heading for free agency.

If Sale and Porcello are impacted by the promise of free agency or rattled by the uncertainty, the Sox' season could suffer. And whether they're offered deals or not, Sale and Porcello may soon be faced with the same scenario -- having to turn out the constant chatter about his future, the projections about what might be waiting for them in free agency, and focus on helping the Red Sox successfully defend their World Series title.

"When you go into your walk year,'' said Scherzer, after tossing three shutout innings against the Red Sox Thursday, "everything about you gets exposed -- who you are as a person, your friends, your inner circle, your family, your support system. You have to go out and pitch under the pressure of having to perform, because you're auditioning for the rest of the league.

"When you walk through those (clubhouse) doors, every single day, you're only here to win. If you compartmentalize that, you understand that everything you do when you walk through those doors and go between the lines is about winning. The contract stuff? That all takes care of itself. Because when you pitch to win, even when you're a little dinged up, you take the ball and go out there and that's your No. 1 concern.''

Scherzer knows from experience that's not an easy proposition. It was a mental grind, but Scherzer thrived anyway.

"That shows what your character is and what you're about,'' he said recounting the experience. "The off-field stuff — the contract, the business of the game — can be ugly. For fans, it can be tough to understand players who are going through that situation and we're not looking for any sympathy. But when you do go through that walk year, who you are as a person is shown on the field.''

Porcello was a teammate of Scherzer's in Detroit and wasn't surprised that the three-time Cy Young Award winner was able to forge ahead without losing track of the task at hand.

"He's always been a guy where focus and compartmentalizing things have never been issues for him,'' said Porcello. "If there's anything, what I took from it was he was able to put it all behind him and pitch and focus on our ballclub and winning that year. Regardless of what happens, you've got to do your job. That always has to come first in my mind.

"It didn't surprise me honestly. A lot of what I've learned about in-between start preparation came from him. We worked out together, we looked at video, and things we can look for in certain statistics to help get a guy out -- all of that. He left no stone unturned in terms of his preparation and getting ready to go every year. That's what I watched and noticed and admired and have wanted to emulate in every facet.''

Scherzer and Porcello maintain a friendship and communicate often. Porcello hasn't been afraid to go to him for advice, and wouldn't hesitate to do again.

But it's hard for him to predict the future or know what challenges lie ahead.

"I wouldn't know until the situation's in front of me,'' said Porcello.

Scherzer, who knows both, predicts Sale and Porcello will handle it well.

"Those are two very highly-respected individuals within the game,'' Scherzer said. "I fully anticipate that those guys will be able to handle it and understand how to go about their business. They've been doing it for a long time.  The pressure of playing in a World Series is more than the business of the game. Those guys performed well in the World Series. I really can't imagine (the question of a big contract) is going to impact them more than pitching in the postseason."