Mad Max’s chances of avoiding a season-opening IL stint have taken a positive step forward.
Scherzer, who was scratched from his most recent Grapefruit League start due to right thumb discomfort, is scheduled to make his final spring outing against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, manager John Schneider told reporters, as relayed by Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling.
The hope is to have him throw around 60-65 pitches after he tossed roughly 50 pitches in a side session on Thursday. If the 40-year-old recovers without any issues from there, he’ll join the Toronto Blue Jays when they fly north following Sunday’s exhibition finale versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Max Scherzer (right thumb) will start for the Blue Jays tomorrow against the Twins in Fort Myers.
Scherzer asked to make the two-hour road trip because he wanted to face major league opposition
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) March 21, 2025
Prior to missing his start on March 13, Scherzer had looked incredible during his first three outings as a Blue Jay, issuing 14 strikeouts across nine innings while allowing just a pair of runs (both earned) on three hits and zero walks. He’s also displayed an uptick in velocity, with his four-seamer averaging 92.4 m.p.h. and touching 94 on four separate occasions.
Last season, the veteran right-hander’s fastball hit at least 94 m.p.h on the radar gun 17 times across nine starts.
Scherzer said earlier this week that he’s had to manage his right thumb injury since 2023. He tried to pitch through it last spring, only to have it snowball into a nerve issue impacting his entire pitching arm. That ultimately prevented him from making his season debut until late June.
Aware of how things played out in ’24, the three-time Cy Young Award winner stopped himself before making things worse this time around. He said most of the discomfort begins to flare up around the 50-pitch mark and during his post-start recovery.
After signing Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5-million contract last winter, the Blue Jays would ideally like to have him available for 20-25 starts this season, performing similarly to the sub-four ERA hurler he was when healthy last year and in ’23 with the New York Mets and Texas Rangers.
If he isn’t ready by Opening Day, though, Yariel Rodríguez — who’s currently stretched out as a starter — would presumably slide into the starting rotation as his injury replacement.