Blue Jays agree to incentive-based deal with Max Scherzer

Falling in the World Series last season to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7, the Toronto Blue Jays have been determined to strengthen their roster in the offseason.

The Blue Jays' front office did just that, signing Dylan Cease as well as Kazuma Okamoto and Cody Ponce.

That said, even though Spring Training is well underway, it didn't stop the Jays from making another move.

Late Wednesday night, it was reported first by Jon Heyman of The New York Post that the Jays have come to terms with three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer, brining the right-hander back after his first season with the club last year.

According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the deal is for a base salary of $3 million, although performance bonuses could bump the deal up in value to a maximum of $10 million.

After being sidelined with injuries to begin the 2025 season, Scherzer came back to make 17 appearances for Toronto before the postseason, going 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA.

At 41-years-old, Scherzer won't be expected to pitch a full workload throughout the year, but could give the Blue Jays the opportunity to pitch a six-man rotation at times, allowing the rest of the staff to rest an extra day at different points throughout the year.

It also means that Eric Lauer will likely be removed from consideration for the final spot in the rotation, given the current injury to Shane Bieber.

Moving Scherzer to the bullpen instead wouldn't make much sense, as the former eight-time All-Star has only made nine of his career 483 appearances in relief and none since his rookie season back in 2008.

As the 2026 season nears, it'll be interesting to see how John Schneider handles the rotation. 

More MLB news:

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• Padres go from zero to hero with flurry of minor league deals
• Dodgers add former All-Star infielder on minor league contract
• Brewers sign former Angels utility-man to play third base
• Zac Gallen returns to Diamondbacks on a one-year deal
• Nationals sign two-time All-Star to fill out their rotation