The Toronto Blue Jays and free agent pitcher Max Scherzer have come to terms on a 1 year deal for the 2026 MLB campaign. The deal, which is pending a physical, reportedly features a $3M base salary, with up to $10M in incentives.
Per Ken Rosenthal, the deal will not feature any trade protection, with the incentives beginning once Scherzer hits the 65 innings pitched plateau.
The veteran pitcher and the club had remained in close contact throughout the offseason. Given the fact that the team is already in full swing for Spring Training, there doesn’t appear to be any rush to have Scherzer ready for Opening Day.
Toronto’s rotation is already fairly crowded given the team’s signings of both Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce in the offseason. So there is no need to try to accelerate a return to play plan for the 41 year old.
A 3x Cy Young award winner, 8x All-Star, and 2x World Series champion, Scherzer is about as guaranteed a lock to become a Hall of Famer one day as they come. Currently sitting 37 innings shy of 3,000 pitched, the 6’3″ righty needs just 11 more strikeouts for 3,500, and 17 more games for 500 in his illustrious career.
Few will confuse him at this stage of his career for the perennial All-World front of the rotation starter he was 5 years ago. However, given the construction of the Jays roster, the team won’t need him to be an innings eater like he was in the past.
Toronto figures to play it slow with Scherzer and ensure his body, and most notably his thumb, are 100% ready to go before activating him. Nevertheless, Scherzer is a solid clubhouse addition to a Blue Jays team that wants to return to the World Series this season more than anything else.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.