Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer is surely going to end up in Cooperstown when his time in MLB is officially over. The question is, when will that be?

Scherzer is keen on pitching again in 2026, despite coming off of the worst season of his career. Is it likely that the 41-year-old takes a step forward next season? Father Time would tell us probably not.

But we all know Mad Max is one of the great competitors this game has ever seen. He is going to fight and claw his way to scrap together every ounce of competitive baseball he has left in him. Even with his poor regular-season output of a 5.19 ERA over 17 starts, Scherzer was able to put it together in the postseason where he made three total starts and posted a 3.77 ERA.

An expected ERA of 4.67, a walk rate of 6.4%, and not a lot of hard contact given up shows that there is the potential for more success to be had in 2026. It is very interesting to think about who will possibly take that shot on Scherzer as he is more than likely looking to latch on to a contender, but did he pitch well enough in 2025 to make that a reality? We will see.

Free Agent Profile: Max Scherzer

• Age in 2026: 41
• 2025 Stats: 17 GS, 85 IP, 5.19 ERA, 4.67 xERA, 22.9 K%, 6.4 BB%
• 2025 Salary: $15.5 Million
• Qualifying Offer Eligibility: No 

Contract Projection 

• Contract Length Expectation: 1 year
• Expected AAV: $10-$15 Million

Free Agent Landing Spots for Max Scherzer

Toronto Blue Jays

A return to Toronto is certainly on the table for Scherzer. Coming off of an American League pennant, the Blue Jays are looking to do everything they can to stay at the top of the American League.

The Blue Jays just recently signed Dylan Cease to shore up their 2026 rotation, so to find a fit for Scherzer on next year’s club, there will need to be some additional moving parts.

With Cease on hand, rumor has it the Blue Jays are open to moving Jose Berrios and the remainder of his contract in a trade. Should they be able to pull that off, there’s a spot for Scherzer (or perhaps someone like left-hander Eric Lauer) to step in to the spot Berrios left vacant.

Lauer spent a large chunk of the season as a starter before moving to the bullpen. If the Blue Jays want to move forward with Lauer in the ‘pen, a reunion with Scherzer could make sense. Again, this is all contingent on Berrios either being traded or shifting to the bullpen, but the former feels much more likely than the latter.

Scherzer has such a long track record and has shown time and time again that he can step up when the lights are the brightest. He loved his time in Toronto, the Blue Jays loved having him in the clubhouse, and this just feels like a match that needs to happen … again.

Detroit Tigers

I do not believe the Detroit Tigers are trading Tarik Skubal. Even with keep Skubal, the Tigers need to solidify the backend of this rotation and a reunion with Scherzer makes sense.

Besides the fact that Scherzer spent five seasons in Detroit through the early part of his prime, the 41-year-old on the mound makes sense for this team. In 2025, Scherzer was in just the second percentile in all of baseball in groundball rate. The strikeout numbers have dropped a sizeable amount as well, resulting in the ball being put in the air an awful lot.

But, even as the stuff has diminished, Scherzer is still generating weak contact. Couple that with the pitcher’s park that is Comerica and the idea of bringing Scherzer in to fortify the backend of the rotation becomes understandable.

Houston Astros

Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and then who? Lance McCullers? Jason Alexander? Spencer Arrighetti?

Arrighetti is heading into his age-26 season and is certainly young enough to still put it together, but with Framber Valdez heading into free agency and Ronel Blanco likely to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season, the Astros need to add to this staff. Could they bring back Framber? Sure. It feels more likely, however, that he ends up somewhere else in 2026.

The Astros need more help than just Scherzer, but right now he would certainly be welcomed as a positive addition to the staff as a veteran who is going to go out and compete every fifth day to do what he can to help the Astros get back to the postseason.

Kansas City Royals

After making the postseason in 2024, the Royals fell short of their goals in 2025 and are looking to get back into the hunt in 2026.

The Royals currently are slated to have one of the better rotations in baseball. So, why would Scherzer be a good fit?

Injuries. Kris Bubic ended the year on the injured list and while he is expected to be ready to go by the start of the 2026, that is not a guarantee especially considering his injury history. If we reach March and Scherzer still does not have a home, he could find one in KC as a stopgap to an eventually returning Bubic if needed.

The other possible factor, as Jeff Passan recently reported, is that teams are looking to take away from the depth that is the Royals’ rotation. Bubic is included in that, although teams are understandably a bit scared away by the season ending injury in 2025. If a guy out of this rotation is dealt for a major league bat, backfilling that spot with Scherzer would be a great addition.

Washington Nationals

The one team on this list that there is no way to convince yourselves that they are contenders. Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal back in 2015 going on to help guide the Nationals to a World Series title in 2019.

The Nationals need to be included here because the fact of the matter is, while Scherzer will want to pitch for a contender, he may not get the calls or dollar amount he is looking for.

Enter Washington.

A chance for Scherzer to pitch his way to being a trade deadline pickup once again while doing so in the place he called home for six and a half seasons? I’d be willing to guess that is something Scherzer would be interested in if it meant getting to scratch that competitive itch in 2026.