DUNEDIN, Fla. — While the Toronto Blue Jays have been in touch regularly with Max Scherzer’s representatives throughout spring training, the future Hall of Fame right-hander’s return is still not guaranteed, in part because of the ripple effects his addition would create across the pitching staff.
Multiple league sources told The Athletic that the Blue Jays are open to re-signing the 41-year-old, who was a key part of the team’s clubhouse culture and 2025 World Series run. Sportsnet’s Ben-Nicholson Smith reported on Friday that negotiations have gotten more serious in the last week.
Bringing back Scherzer would be complicated, however. If he returns to the Jays, he would almost certainly need a guaranteed role, if not by Opening Day, then at some point in the near future. If the Jays don’t suffer any more pitching injuries, they could then potentially have eight starters for five spots, once right-hander Shane Bieber is back and Scherzer is ready.
After Toronto announced Bowden Francis will miss all of the 2026 season and Bieber will start the season on the injured list, it became clear the Jays could use more pitching depth. Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and José Berrios combine to make a solid starting five, but the Jays really only have Eric Lauer as a rotation option behind them to start the year. The Jays have some intriguing pitching prospects expected to begin the year in Double A, like Gage Stanifer, but none who are expected to be real rotation candidates until months into the season.
Even among that projected starting five, though, there are durability concerns. Gausman pitched 223 2/3 innings in 2025, including the postseason, and seems like a candidate to have a slower spring training. Trey Yesavage also enters 2026 coming off the longest season and shortest offseason of his baseball life. The Jays have room for more innings.
But, still, it seems unlikely that Scherzer, with 221 career wins, three Cy Youngs and two World Series titles, would sign up to be a spot starter or depth option. He’s not taking a minor-league deal with an invite to camp, either. With Justin Verlander — who signed a $13 million deal with $11 million deferred earlier in spring — likely setting Scherzer’s market, Scherzer may require a significant contract. Money doesn’t appear to be of particular concern to the Jays, who are already projected to be well above the highest collective bargaining tax threshold, but any added contracts would still result in significant tax penalties, almost doubling the cost of the deal.
Maybe the Jays have become aware of another pitching ailment that’s motivating their increased interest in Scherzer? Maybe they’re considering another move to open a clearer path for Scherzer? The Jays did make Berríos available for trade this winter, league sources told The Athletic. Lauer recently told the Toronto Star that it “is a little frustrating” to not have a rotation spot, and other teams could view him as a player worth giving up solid assets for. Or perhaps the Jays are just staying in touch with Scherzer in case anyone else gets hurt during spring training. If Toronto really needs a starter, it seems to be one phone call away.
Even with those potential complications, players and staff around Blue Jays spring training are open to bringing back Scherzer. He pitched 85 regular season innings with a 5.19 ERA for the Jays last year, but his value goes much beyond that. He was a “second pitching coach,” manager John Schneider said last year. He spent hours in the manager’s office during the season and acted as a sort of connective tissue between players and coaches. And, of course, the righty showed up in the postseason with massive starts in the ALCS and World Series.
If Scherzer drives into Toronto’s spring complex and steps out of his vehicle in the coming days, he will be warmly welcomed back. But other dominos may have to fall before that happens.