Scherzer reaches agreement on deal to return to Blue Jays (report)
This browser does not support the video element.
Right-hander Max Scherzer has agreed to a contract to return to the Blue Jays, according to a report from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. The club didn't confirm the news.
The deal is for one-year at $3 million, and will include $10 million in incentives that start at 65 innings pitched, and the contact will also include no-trade protection, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Scherzer’s resume speaks for itself. The right-hander is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, collecting three Cy Young Awards and eight All-Star selections while posting a 3.22 ERA and a 131 ERA+. He’s won two World Series titles and ranks 11th all time with 3,489 strikeouts.
Of course, not even future Hall of Famers are immune to the effects of aging. Now 41, Scherzer has battled multiple injuries over the past two years, making just 26 regular-season starts in that span. He finished the 2025 regular season with a career-worst 5.19 ERA over 85 innings after joining the Blue Jays on a one-year, $15.5 million deal last offseason.
Despite his tough regular season, Scherzer proved to be an asset for Toronto in October. With the Blue Jays trying to dig out of a 2-1 series deficit against the Mariners in the ALCS, he picked up a huge win in Game 4, holding Seattle to two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Going into the Fall Classic, the hyper-competitive righty indicated that he wasn’t planning on retiring, especially after getting the right thumb injury that bothered him throughout the year under control.
This browser does not support the video element.
“As long as I can be a starter on a championship-caliber team, I want to keep playing,” Scherzer said at the time. “If my body's healthy, I want to keep playing. And ever since I got over this thumb issue, it really kind of put a jolt in me that I can still pitch at this level.”
Scherzer did solid work in his two World Series starts against the Dodgers as well, including 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Game 7. If Toronto had won that game, perhaps Scherzer would have reconsidered his retirement stance and ridden into the sunset with a third ring on his finger. But we’ll never know for sure. The Blue Jays lost Game 7 in heartbreaking fashion, denying Scherzer a chance at a storybook ending and giving him another reason to return for his 19th MLB season.