The Blue Jays have signed future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to a 1 year deal worth $15.5 million, according to Jon Heyman. Bob Nightengale adds that the signing doesn’t knock them out of the Pete Alonso discussion, but it’s Bob, so take that with a grain of salt.
The heterochromatic maniac enters his age 40 season coming off a mostly lost year. His 2023 season was ended by a combination of minor injuries that ended up with him receiving back surgery that December, although he did manage to gut out a brief appearance in the world series to help Texas defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks. Recovery from the surgery, plus pain in the thumb of his pitching hand kept him out until late June of last year. He made eight starts between June 23 and July 30 before a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder knocked him back out. He made it back for one start in September, but a hamstring strain and the Rangers falling out of the wildcard hunt ended his season there.
After being drafted and debuting with the Arizona Cardinals, Scherzer was traded to Detroit as part of a blockbuster three team deal that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. He spent five seasons as a Tiger, including earning his first two all star nods and his first Cy Young award in 2013. Following the 2014 season he signed with the Washington Nationals, and it was there that he’d achieve the peak of his success. Over six and a half seasons as a National, Scherzer logged 1,610 strikeouts in 1,229 innings, posting a 2.80 ERA while winning two more Cy Youngs and appearing in five all star games, and finally winning his first ring in 2019. He was traded to the LA Dodgers at the 2021 trade deadline, then went on to sign a three year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets. It was at this point that his durability started to fade, and at the 2023 deadline he was flipped to the Texas Rangers with the Mets retaining all of his 2023 and most of his 2024 salaries. He pitched well down the stretch for Texas, but injuries kept him out of most of that year’s World Series run.
He recently worked out for scouts from several teams in Florida, and apparently looked good. It’s an open question how much Toronto can expect in 2025, though. Only 40 starters have qualified for an ERA title at age 40 or older since the 2000 season, and even fewer have done so after returning from a spate of significant injuries. It seems like a reasonable risk, however, given the Jays’ situation. They missed out on all of the frontline starters available on this year’s market, and given the uncertainty about the current roster’s future it arguably doesn’t make sense to lock in on a multi-year deal for significant money for a mid-rotation type like Jack Flaherty or Nick Pivetta. Sherzer, who performed like an ace as recently as 2022 and was solidly above average in 2023, has higher upside those players if he is indeed fully healthy. The short term nature of the commitment means that little will be lost if it turns out he can’t stay on the mound, and if the team struggles but he performs it will be easy to trade him at the deadline.
One fun thing to watch out for: with 3,407 career strikeouts, Scherzer is 10 behind former teammate Justin Verlander (who turns 42 next month and is signed with the Giants) and 102 behind the great Walter Johnson. Passing either would get him inside the top 10 all time.