With Spring Training right around the corner, the Blue Jays have already established a very strong rotation by adding names like Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to an already deep pitching staff with the likes of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber and rookie sensation Trey Yesavage.

However, despite the team making a push to go and get Framber Valdez, who just recently signed with the Detroit Tigers (3 years, $115 million), they may not be done just yet.

Max Scherzer, who was the last Blue Jay to start a game for the franchise back in Game 7 of the World Series, has not found a new home yet and has expressed he wants another year playing in the show. The soon-to-be 42-year-old future Hall of Famer is coming off a 5.17 ERA across 17 starts with Toronto in 2025. He missed a huge chunk of the season with a thumb issue, but he was someone who showed he was willing to battle through every game, as shown in the postseason with a 3.77 ERA in three starts in the playoffs.

While Mad Max is not what he was in his prime, there is sure intrigue in a possible reunion, per Jon Heyman late Wednesday night.

Do the Blue Jays need Max Scherzer as much as they did in 2025 in 2026? The answer right now is no. Although, as Jays fans have seen over the years, you can never have too much pitching.

The Blue Jays used 15 different pitchers to start in 2025 while still advancing to the World Series. Not counting names like Louis Varland and Braydon Fisher, who were openers for the team, they ended up trotting out starters to arms like Easton Lucas, Paxton Schultz, Jose Urena, and Spencer Turnbull. Yariel Rodriguez even started a game for the team last season, not to mention the fact that Bowden Francis made 14 starts as well, and 15 starts for Eric Lauer.

With all the players I just mentioned above, only four of those names are still on the 40-man roster, and the mystery with Bowden Francis going into 2026 is whether he will start or go back to the bullpen. While there is a for sure risk with signing Scherzer at his age and with the risk of injuries that he has accumulated over the years, the team may be trying to think of the broader picture.

The reality is, you aren’t going to depend on Max Scherzer at age 42 to be throwing six-plus innings and over 80 pitches every five starts or so, but you can for sure depend on him to be a valuable voice in a clubhouse that has its mind fixated on getting gold. Then there’s also the issue of long-term health of the rotation.

Will Jose Berrios suffer injury troubles as he did throughout last season? Is Shane Bieber going to be trusted to be durable after still recovering from Tommy John Surgery? Will Trey Yesavage have some struggles as a young 23-year-old in his first full season in the big leagues? All of these are possibilities that you need to have backup plans for.

With Scherzer, we look at a similar situation with the Los Angeles Dodgers and their handling of fellow soon-to-be Hall of Famer, Clayton Kershaw. Towards the end of his career, Kershaw only signed one-year contracts in LA as injuries piled up over time. Kershaw also took his time to re-sign with the Dodgers each time he chose to go back to the franchise in the winters of 2023 and 2024.

Scherzer made it clear that he is more than fine waiting to sign with a new ballclub, but has stated he wants to go to a competitive team, even stating to Ken Rosenthal that he is more than happy waiting until after Opening Day in 2026.

It’s already been stated that the front office of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins was not overly sentimental on the 2025 roster, as shown by the lack of returning pending free agents.

But with a name as big as Max Scherzer and the fact that he’s still got the desire to compete at the highest level, a reunion may not be fully closed.

Will we see him log over 200 innings in a season? No. Will we see him start in his 3500 strikeout in the big leagues? Time will soon tell.

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