TORONTO -- It’s all starting to come together for the Blue Jays, who have signed Max Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5 million contract.
The deal, which the club announced late Tuesday, immediately upgrades the Blue Jays’ rotation with a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star. Scherzer is 40 now, but he is still one of the best pitchers of this generation and has at least one more stop to make before the Hall of Fame.
For much of the offseason, the Blue Jays’ efforts had been defined by their failures, most notably in their pursuits of Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes, then Roki Sasaki. By landing Anthony Santander and now Scherzer, though, the narrative is shifting around the Blue Jays, who should still have the financial flexibility to add with Spring Training just two weeks away. Besides, in what could be the last year for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in Toronto, why stop here?
Scherzer has been a force on the mound for 17 seasons, his 2,878 innings spread across six organizations with a shot at reaching the 3,000-inning plateau in 2025. He’s done and won everything, including a World Series ring with the Nationals in ‘19 and one with the Rangers in ‘23, so the Blue Jays are betting on his incredible track record and trademark intensity.
Last year, Scherzer’s start to the season was delayed as he recovered from back surgery and an eventual nerve issue, but he came back in late June to give the Rangers a 3.95 ERA over 43 1/3 innings. Health will be a factor here, of course, but if the Blue Jays have one thing they can hang their hat on recently, it’s the ability of Pete Walker and the club’s training staff to keep veteran starters healthy and rolling.
Adding Scherzer takes the Blue Jays’ rotation to another level, their depth and bullpen rising with the same tide. That’s where this gets exciting for the organization.
Scherzer will join Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and José Berríos, forming a veteran quartet that has a combined 48 seasons of MLB experience with 7,109 innings pitched. Line them up however you want.
Going one step further, though, the Scherzer deal matters because of what this does to the rest of the Blue Jays’ pitching depth. Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez were in line to round out the starting five, but after Francis’ incredible stretch run in 2024, he feels like the safe bet to stick in the No. 5 job. One injury can change everything and there are miles to go between here and Opening Day, but for the moment, Rodríguez looks like the odd man out. Given his ability to work as a swingman or even shorten up into a single-inning role, one he nailed while pitching in Japan, there are plenty of ways for Rodríguez to help this team win. In a roundabout way, signing Scherzer could save the Blue Jays from needing to spend on another bullpen piece.
While Rodríguez would still slide right back in if another starter is needed, the Blue Jays can also extend their depth to include Jake Bloss while others, like Adam Kloffenstein, will compete in camp for the No. 7 or 8 spot on the ladder. Consider that Ricky Tiedemann or Alek Manoah could return later this season from their elbow surgeries, too, and this group is starting to look like a legitimate strength.
Depth will matter in July, though. For now, the Blue Jays have something to celebrate. The great Max Scherzer, who at times has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, is coming to Toronto.
This is the type of shot the Blue Jays needed to take in their rotation once it became clear they weren’t going to land a top-end arm like Burnes or Max Fried on a long-term deal. It all comes down to whether Scherzer has one good year left in him -- or even more -- but who better to bet on than a pitcher with his resume?
There’s still work to do and the Blue Jays still feel one big bat away from an excellent offseason, but this is another fine step in the right direction… and another step away from all of those conversations about missing out.