Max Scherzer Undecided About Pitching Beyond 2026

Max Scherzer will start the Blue Jays’ season finale on Sunday, and told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi) that he’ll wait until the offseason before deciding on his longer-term future.  Perhaps reflecting Scherzer’s uncertainty, the future Hall-of-Famer noted that his family will be in attendance tomorrow, just in case the game with the Reds ends up being the last start of his 19-season career.

Such a year-to-year approach is pretty normal for the few who play as long as Scherzer, who turned 42 last July.  He was more adamant about his desire to return for another season following the 2025 campaign, though that was immediately in the aftermath of Toronto’s tough loss in Game 7 of the World Series.

With the Blue Jays struggling to a losing record in 2026 and Scherzer battling through another injury-marred season, the veteran right-hander may be giving a little more consideration towards hanging up his cleats.  The impending lockout is also “a big part of the calculus” for Scherzer, as he told The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli and Mitch Bannon earlier this week.  The lockout will heavily interrupt the normal offseason schedule and perhaps even threaten regular-season games in 2027, so Scherzer (who has been heavily involved in MLBPA leadership in the past) may prefer retirement over this uncertainty.

Scherzer posted a 2.29 ERA over 145 1/3 innings for the Mets in 2022, in what was probably the last time we saw something close to peak form from the veteran ace.  He wasn’t as effective in posting a 3.77 ERA over 152 2/3 combined frames with the Mets and Rangers in 2023, but Scherzer pitched better after being dealt to Texas, and helped the Rangers win their first championship.

Since that 2023 season, however, a variety of injuries has limited Scherzer to just 206 regular-season innings, plus 14 1/3 more frames during the Blue Jays’ postseason run last fall.  While he managed a 3.77 ERA for the Jays in the playoffs, Scherzer had a 5.19 ERA in 85 innings during the 2025 regular season, and a 6.14 ERA in 77 2/3 innings this year (plus whatever tomorrow’s start brings).  Scherzer’s 18.1% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate in 2026 are each career worsts, and he has had a lot of trouble keeping the ball in the park during his two years in a Toronto uniform.

The Blue Jays signed Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5MM deal in the 2024-25 offseason, and brought him back for 2026 on another one-year pact, this time for just $3MM in guaranteed money.  (Scherzer has unlocked $2MM more in bonuses, and he can add another $1MM if he pitches at least 7 1/3 innings tomorrow.)  A similar low-cost, incentive-heavy contract probably awaits him in free agency this winter, and Scherzer will again prioritize offers from contending clubs.  A return to Toronto isn’t entirely out of the question — the Jays treasure Scherzer’s clubhouse leadership, and the club probably wants as much pitching depth as possible given how injuries ravaged the staff this year.

Whenever Scherzer decides to retire, he’ll be a first-ballot inductee to Cooperstown five years after the fact.  Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and an eight-time All-Star over his 19 seasons with the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Nationals, Dodgers, Mets, Rangers, and Blue Jays, and he won World Series rings in Washington and Texas.  Scherzer has 224 career wins and his 3550 strikeouts rank ninth on the all-time list, just four K’s behind Justin Verlander for eighth place.  Since Verlander is having the final start of his career today, it sets up an interesting dynamic and perhaps a target for Scherzer heading into Sunday’s outing.