Cy Young winner Max Scherzer reportedly joining Blue Jays on 1-year deal

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A future Hall of Fame pitcher is heading to Toronto.

The hope for the Blue Jays is that Max Scherzer still has something left in the tank.

The three-time Cy Young winner (only four pitchers have won the award more times than that) signed a $15.5-million US, one-year deal with Toronto, Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported on Thursday afternoon.

Scherzer, 41 in July, only made nine starts last season for Texas, totalling 43 1/3 innings, but still looked solid when he was able to take the hill for the Rangers. Scherzer struggled a bit in three playoff starts on the way to a World Series win in 2023 with Texas, but has a proven post-season pedigree.

It’s a short-term bet on one of the best remaining starters on the market and on a player the team has long coveted. All of a sudden, the Jays’ rotation looks a lot stronger, assuming Scherzer can hold up for a full season. Scherzer and fellow veterans Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt boast plenty of experience and talent. Last year’s breakout starter Bowden Francis should round out the rotation with former ace Alek Manoah a potential wild card for later in the season as he attempts to work his way back from elbow surgery.

Swingman Yariel Rodriguez now strengthens an improved bullpen, which was also boosted by the return of Yimi Garcia, the signing of closer Jeff Hoffman and the trade for side-armer Nick Sandlin.

Scherzer also won a World Series with Washington and is one of only nine pitchers to win the Cy Young in both leagues. Interestingly, he’s the third to play for the Blue Jays, joining Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay.

He’s pitched a pair of no-hitters, had a 20-strikeout game, is 11th all-time in strikeouts (ranking behind only Justin Verlander amongst active players, which is also the case in terms of wins) and has a career ERA of 3.16. Verlander, Scherzer’s teammate in Detroit and with the New York Mets, signed his own one-year deal for $15 million with San Francisco earlier this month.

The question will be: How much magic does he have left? Toronto reportedly went hard after younger starters like Roki Sasaki, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, but couldn’t land them. Scherzer has nearly 3,000 innings pitched under his belt (more than the likes of Pedro Martinez and Halladay and nearly identical to those tallied by ex-Jays workhorses like Dave Stieb and David Cone.)

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He made two starts in June and was healthy for July, but missed all of August, made a final start in September and later told reporters it was probably the most frustrating season of his career. He added that he believed he’d be healthy and still able to help out a team moving forward after a full off-season.

“The only good news is now I can go in the off-season healthy,” Scherzer said in September, according to the Associated Press. “You know, my back’s good, my arm’s good. The real serious things that you need to think about and talk about are actually in a good spot. I really feel like if I get a full off-season to actually train and do what I do in the off-season, that’s going to matter.

“Now when you reflect upon this year (2024), I didn’t have an off-season, wasn’t able to do anything. … I’m a believer that you give me a full off-season, I think things will definitely be different and I’ll definitely be a lot more healthier next year.”

Scherzer was given a three-year, $130-million US deal by the New York Mets the last time he was a free agent in 2022.