The Toronto Blue Jays have started to plan out their first series of the year, where they will welcome the Baltimore Orioles for a four-game set.

It’s the first time in a few seasons that the Jays will open the year at home after the recent renovations and the COVID-19 pandemic keeping them on the south side of the border, and the start for Thursday’s Opening Day contest will be handed to veteran José Berríos. He will face Zach Eflin, who the Jays faced on Opening Day last year when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays, so it’s a ‘run it back’ situation in some regards, with the Jays topping the Rays 8-2.

Kevin Gausman will toe the rubber on Friday night against Charlie Morton, and the Blue Jays announced yesterday that Max Scherzer will get the nod for the Saturday afternoon contest, with Chris Bassitt likely rounding out the group on Sunday. The Orioles have not announced who will start the Saturday and Sunday contests, but considering Cade Povich was tagged for Baltimore’s home opener next week, Dean Kramer and Tomoyuki Sugano will pitch this weekend at some point.

After signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays this winter, Scherzer is entering the twilight years of what is sure to be a Hall of Fame worthy career. This will be his 18th season in the big leagues and his first year in the AL East, and just his seventh time starting at the Rogers Centre, owning a 1.86 ERA through 38 2/3 innings as a visitor.

The right-hander is coming off an injury-riddled 2024 season that saw him hit the IL on multiple occasions due to offseason back surgery, a hamstring strain, and arm fatigue. He was also dealing with some thumb issues in camp with the Jays, something the club was monitoring this past weekend. He got the green light to make the Opening Day roster and won’t have to start the season on the IL after experiencing limited soreness following his outing.

For his career, Scherzer owns a 3.16 ERA across 466 starts and 2878 innings. A solid season in Toronto could see him cross the 3000 IP threshold, and he’s also just 93 punchouts away from hitting 3500 strikeouts, which would join elite company that has only been accomplished by nine others in the history of Major League Baseball (Justin Verlander could also join Scherzer this year, as he is just 84 strikeouts away as well).

Toronto is currently in ‘win-now’ mode given the current instability of contract control for this club, but having a veteran like Scherzer will be interesting to follow for the Blue Jays, as long as he can stay healthy and provide enough starts to get through a large portion of the season.