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Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer undecided on playing future beyond 2026, excited to pitch in front of his kids ‘one more time’
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Sep 26, 2026, 14:30 EDTUpdated: Sep 26, 2026, 14:35 EDT
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TORONTO — Max Scherzer doesn’t know if Sunday’s regular-season finale start against the Cincinnati Reds will be the final one of his Cooperstown-bound career. He’ll make that decision in the coming months.
Before the 42-year-old takes the mound for what could be his final time, though, he wanted to end any speculation about a potential retirement announcement coming in the aftermath of the Blue Jays’ disappointing 2026 season.
“The only thing I’ll say about my future here is I’m going to make this decision about playing next year later in the off-season,” Scherzer said Saturday afternoon, sitting in front of the gathered media inside Toronto’s dugout. “I’ve talked to everybody in my inner circle, and we all kind of feel the same way — we don’t need to make a decision today.”
Any decision such as that, if it’s even made, won’t be revealed until later in the winter. Scherzer doesn’t intend to rush the final call regarding whether he returns next season or pursues one of his many non-baseball passions. He plans to let that play out organically.
After all, there’s a looming lockout hanging over the sport’s future right now. Come Dec. 1, when the current CBA expires, it’ll mark the beginning of a pivotal standoff between owners and the players’ union — a negotiation with monumental stakes that threatens whether next season will be played.
“You just don’t know how the [2027] season’s going to happen or unfold, or what opportunity is going to be in front of me. So it’s been kind of actually freeing,” Scherzer said. “I’ve been thinking this way for the past, let’s say six weeks here, and nothing’s really changed.”
Big picture, Scherzer can afford to wait and see what Major League Baseball’s landscape looks like before announcing a decision on his playing future. There’ll be plenty of time to dive into the macro-level side of the sport during the off-season.
From a micro-level standpoint, though, his primary focus heading into Sunday is pitching in front of his four kids (Brooke, Kacey, Derek and Nikki) in Toronto again, just in case it ends up being for the final time.
“They enjoy that I play baseball, and they love coming to the field and being here at the park,” Scherzer said. “They get treated great, so they definitely have fun when I’m playing baseball.”
Scherzer shared that his family has had this date circled on their calendar for a while, especially after they weren’t able to travel to Baltimore to watch his previous start versus the Orioles, because they’ve now been back in school for a month.
Keeping pace with longtime rival and former two-time teammate Justin Verlander — whose retirement send-off is taking place Saturday in Detroit — is also likely another reason Scherzer was determined to make his 18th start of the season, which he’ll do on short rest.
“He’s definitely at his end, and really looking forward to seeing him go out there and pitch,” Scherzer said of Verlander’s final start. “For everything he’s done in the game and accomplished, it’s going to be a big moment for him, and I’ve really enjoyed watching him be able to get back out there one more time.”
But as much as media and fans alike have kept a close eye on MLB’s all-time strikeout list over the last few weeks, Scherzer — who entered Saturday four back of Verlander’s 3,554 for eighth — insists the outside noise has paid more attention than he has down the stretch.
“It’s funny how that’s unfolding,” Scherzer chuckled. “Here we are, all these years later, and we’re neck and neck in that regard. So I hope he goes out there and strikes out the world today.”
If nothing else, what Scherzer is most looking forward to, aside from having his family in attendance, is putting on another electric show in front of what’s expected to be yet another sell-out, jam-packed home crowd. He’s loved every bit of calling this place home for the past two seasons.
“I want to pitch again here in the Rogers Centre. I mean, it’s fun when this place is packed,” Scherzer said, later adding, “Those are fun experiences. So that’s why I want to do it tomorrow.”
Who knows, it may or may not be the final time he toes the rubber at this stadium, or any for that matter.
Scherzer plans to revisit that conversation with his wife, Erica, and their four children after this season concludes. There are a bunch of potential scenarios that could arise if he were to return next year. Physically, the most important element is that he feels in a “pretty good” spot. That gives him the fuel to consider keeping the train moving. If he weren’t, it’d be an easy call.
When the time comes, the three-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion will consider all his options. If it’s retirement, that means he’ll feel happy about walking away. If he returns for his 20th season, it could involve signing over the winter or waiting as long as it takes for the right opportunity to come along — possibly even in-season.
“I have no idea how I’m going to feel in about six months,” Scherzer said about his future, whether that could include remaining unsigned all winter and catching on somewhere midway through ’27.
“For me, it’s just about being healthy and right now, pitching this last game and having fun with it, and then just seeing what happens. I really don’t have any expectations of what could happen.”
With over 3,000 innings and 500 career games logged, compiling at least 70 fWAR and 3,500-plus strikeouts, not to mention all the personal accolades and World Series rings, there isn’t much else Scherzer has to accomplish in this game. He’s done pretty much everything at this point.
Outside of baseball, when that day comes, he’s already envisioned plans for his post-playing career, many of which he’ll probably disclose at a later date. Staying in baseball, particularly at this level, probably isn’t in the cards. That’d mean spending even more time on the road, away from his family.
Coaching, however, doesn’t seem far-fetched. But it’d take him back to the youth level. Maybe he’ll be involved with coaching his son, whose playing interests aren’t limited to baseball. Scherzer could fit in perfectly on the sidelines of a gridiron. Or even beyond the lines of a basketball court.
Knowing him, though, he’ll approach every opportunity with the same intensity and competitiveness that’s driven him to greatness on the mound for nearly two decades.

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