Last February, the Blue Jays came virtually out of nowhere to sign Max Scherzer to a one-year deal worth $15.5 million. After failed pursuits of marquee free agents like Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, the Jays were eventually successful in building their starting pitching depth by bringing in the three-time Cy Young winner.

Then Scherzer left three innings into his Blue Jays debut on March 29, 2025, but that’s beside the point. When Scherzer exited Game 7 of the World Series last year, most expected that was the last time he’d don a Blue Jays uniform.

A report from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet surfaced late last week about the Blue Jays and Scherzer speaking about the possibility of another one-year deal. Given the depth the Blue Jays already have in the starting pitching department, adding Scherzer might be overkill, but like the Blue Jays’ rumoured interest in Framber Valdez a few weeks ago, it’s not ideal, but there are ways to make it work.

With Shane Bieber likely to start the season on the injured list, the Blue Jays are now down to six starting pitching options. Interestingly, the team is stretching out Eric Lauer as a starter, and his preference — as reported by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com — is to break camp as a starter rather than a reliever.

Six legitimate big-league options are okay, but it would be nice to have one or two more arms to weather the rigours of a full season, plus the potential for postseason games. Which is why the Blue Jays might circle back to Scherzer now that someone like Bassitt has joined the Baltimore Orioles.

Even if the Blue Jays were to sign Scherzer as early as this week, he’ll require a significant ramp-up period. The players in spring training who need the most runway to get opening day ready are always the starting pitchers, so it’s a long shot that Scherzer would have ample time to get stretched out for the season opener.

But the Blue Jays could structure his contract similar to a minor league deal, where a few benchmarks can be built into the contract. For example, if Scherzer isn’t on the team by X, then he can opt out and sign elsewhere. Things can change rapidly across Major League Baseball, as there are several openings in starting rotations around the league.

It would be like the minor league deal Randy Wolf signed with the Blue Jays in 2015, a move the Blue Jays made in response to Marcus Stroman going down with an ACL injury. Back then, Johan Santana and Jeff Francis were also depth pieces for the Blue Jays in spring training 2015.

Wolf had an opt-out clause on June 1 of that season, and if Wolf made the team, he would’ve earned $800,000. Despite grinding in Buffalo and making 23 starts for the Bisons, Wolf never made it to the Blue Jays. Instead, the club traded him to the Tigers, where he finished his big league career.

More recently, a Scherzer deal might mirror what happened with Spencer Turnbull last season: a major league contract, but the team assigned him to the minor league complex to get some reps in Dunedin and Buffalo before being added to the 26-man roster. Oddly enough, the Jays designated Turnbull for assignment to allow Scherzer to rejoin the roster last June.

Toronto could stash Scherzer in the minors until there’s an opening in their starting rotation, either due to injury, a trade, or someone’s season goes sideways. Again, this would be contingent on Scherzer accepting that minor league assignment, but if he’s interested in a team like the Blue Jays, who are expected to contend in 2026, Scherzer is likely willing to make some concessions.

Things get tricky if the Blue Jays sign Scherzer to a major league deal and add him to the 40-man roster, which then means another player has to come off Toronto’s 40-man. Without a pathway for Scherzer to get playing time, it makes little sense to clear a spot for him, have him throw a few games, then designate him for assignment.

Nicholson-Smith’s report didn’t indicate whether the talks between the Jays and Scherzer were on a major league deal or a minor league contract, but a non-roster deal may couch the Blue Jays’ options, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Bieber’s forearm fatigue.

It wouldn’t be fair to sign Scherzer without a defined role on the roster (and a waste of a roster spot, frankly), so it has to make sense for both parties for something to materialize. But given the updates which saw Bowden Francis go down with Tommy John surgery and Bieber slightly behind schedule, it never hurts to have too much starting pitching.

Would Scherzer make sense in a relief role? If this were the playoffs, the Blue Jays could finagle moving starters into the bullpen, but it’s an unnatural fit to start the season. Bassitt thrived in that role during the ALCS and World Series, but the value for guys like Bassitt and Scherzer lies in their ability to start games and eat up innings.

Although it wasn’t the ideal path the Blue Jays would’ve liked for Scherzer last year, he pitched some big games for the club, especially Game 4 of the ALCS and Game 7 of the World Series. Missing three months in the middle of the season was less than ideal, but Scherzer came up clutch for the Blue Jays when it mattered most.

Unless there’s an undisclosed injury to one of the Blue Jays’ starting pitchers, or they’re confident they can find someone to take on the rest of the Jose Berrios contract, bringing Scherzer back into the fold involves a lot of working parts to make it work.

However, the instant there’s an injury or setback to a Blue Jays starting pitcher, Scherzer can slide his number 31 uniform back on and pick up where he left off last year.

Take $20 off your first Vivid Seats order of $200+ using promo code JAYSNATION (new customers only, $200 USD minimum before taxes & fees)