After coming up short with the Blue Jays in 2025, Max Scherzer will get another shot to win it all in Toronto. The right-hander has reportedly agreed to re-sign with the Jays, taking him off the board before the calendar flips to March.
A Look at Scherzer
The 2025 season was a tough one for Max Scherzer, who has dealt with numerous injuries over the past five years. Last season, it was a nagging thumb injury that he suffered early last season, plus a back issue later on in the year.
Overall, the season was far from his best. When he was on the mound, he posted an ERA north of 5.00 in the regular season and struck out 82 batters over 85 innings.
However, in the postseason, Scherzer earned his stripes yet again. The veteran right-hander struck out 11 over 14 innings for Toronto and posted a 3.77 ERA. It wasn’t the cleanest postseason, as he walked six and conceded three home runs. Nonetheless, he filled out the rotation nicely once the Jays were in the seven-game series.
Now, as far as some of the other metrics were concerned, it was a very up-and-down season. That doesn’t need to be stated, given that his ERA was over 5.00 in the regular season. But this was perhaps the most vulnerable we’ve seen Scherzer in his Hall of Fame-caliber career.
For one, his slider got hit in 2025. Scherzer conceded six home runs off it last season, several of which were of the spinner variety, right over the middle of the plate.
That’s worth pointing out for several reasons. One, the obvious one: Scherzer gave up a lot of hard contact, and the slider was partly to blame. Overall, his opponents’ Barrel% of 12.4% was in the bottom 2% of the league last season. Two, Scherzer leaned less on it last season.
As the season progressed, it was more fastball-heavy for Scherzer.
That fastball, by the way, had good overall velocity. Scherzer was able to regularly run it up to 93-94 MPH, and it averaged roughly one MPH more than 2024.
The New York Post reported that Max Scherzer agreed to re-sign with the Blue Jays.
Analysis
Scherzer has unfinished business: he stated as much after the 2025 World Series. He noted after the Fall Classic that he did not believe that he threw his last pitch last season. Now, he’ll look to add another World Series title to his lengthy Hall of Fame resume.
The Blue Jays made it work, even though Toronto added Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to beef up the rotation over the winter. Those two will join Kevin Gausman, rookie Trey Yesavage, and Shane Bieber, plus versatile pitcher Eric Lauer.
Obviously, injuries will figure into the equation at some point down the line, meaning that the Blue Jays will likely take all of the depth that the team can add. After all, Shane Bieber is coming back from a forearm issue, while Bowden Francis is already done for 2026.
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