<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Toronto Blue Jays are officially postseason-bound in 2025. As October approaches rapidly, a few questions are lingering about pitching and who will make the final roster for the postseason. One question in particular is how the Blue Jays utilize <a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/max-scherzer-453286?stats=gamelogs-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2025">Max Scherzer.</a></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before the debate goes further, the easiest answer is to include him in the starting rotation. Without a doubt, Scherzer’s 18-year veteran stint has earned him a spot in the starting rotation, backed by an above-average performance so far in 2025. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The eight-time all-star pitcher comes with valuable experience on the mound and in the postseason. Despite the arguable numbers this year, Scherzer is still a big-game pitcher with big-game energy.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His veteran presence, along with his preparation style, is very beneficial for a Blue Jays rotation that may still be novice to October baseball. So where does he fit in? Truthfully, he can assist in both roles: the bullpen and the rotation. </span></p>
<h3><strong>Max Scherzer could be effective in the rotation under certain limitations</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The right-hander could squeeze his way into a rotational spot. The reservations behind this stem from the fact that the battle with his thumb has been constant. The reality of the flare-ups is present, and mitigation needs to be configured if that does happen. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scherzer averages five innings per start this season. His current pitching line for 2025 shows 16 total starts with a 5-4 record and 80 innings of work. His 16 starts show that he’s capable of keeping the role. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">He has eight of his starts (50%) meeting the criteria for the label “quality start”. In those eight outings, he’s pitched more than five innings. Scherzer’s sweet zone is between three to five innings of work at a competitive pace. He keeps the walks at a minimum (2.6 BB/9) and still shows solid strikeout numbers (8.7 K/9) despite the up-and-down year. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As his velocity is not the same, going out for longer than that puts him in a vulnerable situation. He’ll remain more untouched before six innings of work, then the bullpen taps in. As long as John Schneider and his staff work the load management method for injury and quality innings, Scherzer should be good to start in the rotation. </span></p>
<h3><strong>The bullpen is also a good landing spot for the right-handed veteran</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-max-scherzer-struggles-kansas-city-royals-20-runs-toronto-blue-jays">Scherzer’s last start</a> against the Kansas City Royals on September 19th was ugly. This can happen to anyone at any time; however, these blow-ups set the tone for the game at hand. Posting an outing like that in a postseason setting could be detrimental to the flow of the team and the usage of the bullpen.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Salvador Perez career home run No. 303!</p>
<p>It comes off Max Scherzer, the same pitcher who Salvy hit his first homer off in 2011! 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/BTHnG8i3Ou">pic.twitter.com/BTHnG8i3Ou</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1969191179825651865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Scherzer’s better short-inning outings, a role in the bullpen (if he were to go there) would be more fitting. He’d offer two to four quality innings at an elite level. An average of five innings on the high end and three innings on the low end as a starter shows he’s good as a reliever. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scherzer would fit as a mid-reliever and or pre-set-up man. He would not quite hold the closer role. He would also work into a matchup consideration, summoned in a scenario where, numerically, he could be successful. He could also be a pitcher that bridges the gap if the starter gets roughed up early and someone needs to eat innings. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To say Scherzer should be in either role without purpose is not beneficial. To understand that he can fit both roles performance-wise is beneficial, especially when dynamic roster moves need to be made. </span></p>
<hr />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Toronto Blue Jays are officially postseason-bound in 2025. As October approaches rapidly, a few questions are lingering about pitching and who will make the final roster for the postseason. One question in particular is how the Blue Jays utilize <a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/max-scherzer-453286?stats=gamelogs-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2025">Max Scherzer.</a></span>



<span style="font-weight: 400;">Before the debate goes further, the easiest answer is to include him in the starting rotation. Without a doubt, Scherzer’s 18-year veteran stint has earned him a spot in the starting rotation, backed by an above-average performance so far in 2025. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The eight-time all-star pitcher comes with valuable experience on the mound and in the postseason. Despite the arguable numbers this year, Scherzer is still a big-game pitcher with big-game energy.</span>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">His veteran presence, along with his preparation style, is very beneficial for a Blue Jays rotation that may still be novice to October baseball. So where does he fit in? Truthfully, he can assist in both roles: the bullpen and the rotation. </span>
<h3><strong>Max Scherzer could be effective in the rotation under certain limitations</strong></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The right-hander could squeeze his way into a rotational spot. The reservations behind this stem from the fact that the battle with his thumb has been constant. The reality of the flare-ups is present, and mitigation needs to be configured if that does happen. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Scherzer averages five innings per start this season. His current pitching line for 2025 shows 16 total starts with a 5-4 record and 80 innings of work. His 16 starts show that he’s capable of keeping the role. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">He has eight of his starts (50%) meeting the criteria for the label “quality start”. In those eight outings, he’s pitched more than five innings. Scherzer’s sweet zone is between three to five innings of work at a competitive pace. He keeps the walks at a minimum (2.6 BB/9) and still shows solid strikeout numbers (8.7 K/9) despite the up-and-down year. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">As his velocity is not the same, going out for longer than that puts him in a vulnerable situation. He’ll remain more untouched before six innings of work, then the bullpen taps in. As long as John Schneider and his staff work the load management method for injury and quality innings, Scherzer should be good to start in the rotation. </span>
<h3><strong>The bullpen is also a good landing spot for the right-handed veteran</strong></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-max-scherzer-struggles-kansas-city-royals-20-runs-toronto-blue-jays">Scherzer’s last start</a> against the Kansas City Royals on September 19th was ugly. This can happen to anyone at any time; however, these blow-ups set the tone for the game at hand. Posting an outing like that in a postseason setting could be detrimental to the flow of the team and the usage of the bullpen.</span>

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1969191179825651865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1969191179825651865%7Ctwgr%5Eb62cb8eb6e749d3f5f59fdc81aec74eb3a82bdf8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluejaysnation.com%2Fnews%2Finstant-reaction-max-scherzer-struggles-kansas-city-royals-20-runs-toronto-blue-jays

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With Scherzer’s better short-inning outings, a role in the bullpen (if he were to go there) would be more fitting. He’d offer two to four quality innings at an elite level. An average of five innings on the high end and three innings on the low end as a starter shows he’s good as a reliever. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scherzer would fit as a mid-reliever and or pre-set-up man. He would not quite hold the closer role. He would also work into a matchup consideration, summoned in a scenario where, numerically, he could be successful. He could also be a pitcher that bridges the gap if the starter gets roughed up early and someone needs to eat innings. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">To say Scherzer should be in either role without purpose is not beneficial. To understand that he can fit both roles performance-wise is beneficial, especially when dynamic roster moves need to be made. </span>

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