Free-agent right-handed starting pitcher Max Scherzer has agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year contract will pay him $15.5 million, CBS Sports HQ’s Jim Bowden has confirmed.
Scherzer, 40, managed only nine starts with the Texas Rangers last season, as he battled hamstring and shoulder injuries after he returned from back surgery. Those nine starts were a mixed bag, as he was dominant a few times but ended up with a 3.95 ERA (101 ERA+) in 43 ⅓ innings. He struck out 40 while walking 10 with a 1.15 WHIP.
CBS Sports ranked Scherzer as the 12th best free agent available, writing the following:
Scherzer was restricted by injury to nine starts this season; none before June, and just one after August. Add in his limited availability down the stretch in 2023, and it seems fair to think that the wheels are starting to come unglued for the 40-year-old. Still, Scherzer has expressed his desire to pitch in 2025. Who are we to scoff at the idea? Besides, he performed well when he was able to, leaving us no doubt that a team will gladly sign him to a one-year pact — if only to ensure they’re mentioned some day down the road, when he’s giving his induction speech in Cooperstown.
The future Hall of Famer at this point is playing due to competitiveness. He’s won three Cy Youngs, made eight All-Star teams and earned two World Series rings. He has 3,407 career strikeouts and 216 wins, so there isn’t really anything attainable that he could check off the list by hanging on a year or two more.
Of course, it’s possible he thinks he can win another Cy Young with a full season of health. The only pitchers to ever win at least four were Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Steve Carlton. He hasn’t even been an All-Star since 2021, but in 23 starts in 2022, he was 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 152 ⅔ innings and that’s an ace-like line.
Scherzer figures to join a Blue Jays rotation that includes Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, and Chris Bassitt. He’s the latest addition for a Blue Jays squad attempting to rebound following several whiffs earlier in the winter (and most recently on Japanese ace Roki Sasaki). He joins an offseason bounty that includes outfielder Anthony Santandar, infielder Andrés Giménez, and relievers Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, and Nick Sandlin.
Just as importantly, the Blue Jays haven’t traded either first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or shortstop Bo Bichette, both of whom will qualify for free agency after the upcoming season. In fact, there have been rumors all winter suggesting the Blue Jays are attempting to extend Guerrero before the start of the season. Whether or not that gets done is to be seen.
The Blue Jays went 74-88 last season, finishing last in the American League East for the first time since 2013.
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