Future of Hall of Famer says he still wants to ‘compete for a World Series’ after heartbreaking end to season in Toronto
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It doesn’t sound like Max Scherzer is ready to start the countdown to his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Scherzer, who will turn 42 just after next July’s all-star break, made some strong starts for the Toronto Blue Jays during the team’s run to a crushing Game 7 World Series defeat, but battled through injuries throughout the season, leaving his future unclear.
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Scherzer, one of the fiercest competitors of his era, wants to keep playing.
“I still can do this,” Scherzer told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Fox Sports.
“The World Series is still so fresh in my mind,” he added when asked about where he wants to play in 2026. “And in my heart, it’s hard to even think about solving free agency.”
Thumb injury behind him?
Scherzer told Rosenthal the right thumb injury that wreaked havoc on his regular season and other recent campaigns is no longer an issue.
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“The way I see it, I’m healthy,” he said. “I’m going to be able to go into spring training. I’m going to be able to ramp up. I have a track record of being a durable starter. I know how to navigate a season. I know how to navigate starts. I just feel I’m in a much better position to be able to do that now that I have this thumb issue completely resolved.”
A return to the Blue Jays remains a possibility. Scherzer’s wife Erica wrote extremely positively about the family’s experience in Toronto after the season ended: “Out of 18 seasons in MLB none has made an impact on our lives quite like this one. Toronto, our family fell in love with your beauty, culture and people. Playing for an entire country is truly special.”
Rosenthal noted some baseball executives believer Scherzer might join the San Francisco Giants. That team’s new manager, Tony Vitello, was Scherzer’s college pitching coach. The Giants employed Scherzer’s former teammate Justin Verlander, who is a year older than him, last season. Verlander is now a free agent again, the same as last year when Scherzer inked a $15.5-million deal with the Blue Jays.
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‘Of course I was upset’ about ALDS snub
Scherzer also told Rosenthal “of course I was upset” at being left off Toronto’s roster early in the playoffs against the New York Yankees, but understood the move and now sees that “everything worked the way it needed to work. I needed to get healthy. I needed to get right so I could be the best version of myself.”
He said he felt much better against Seattle in the next round and said his Game 7 start against Los Angeles was “way up there” in terms of his proudest baseball moments, even if his team ultimately lost the game.
“The last Game 7 I threw was arguably one of the most important games of my life, winning that first Series ring. This one, to be pitching again, and what that game meant to the Blue Jays and all the fans in Canada — obviously, it’s a different outcome, but it’s also a game I don’t think anybody is ever going to forget,” Scherzer said.
“That’s what Game 7s bring in the World Series. These are kind of life-changing starts. It’s hard to even put into words what it means, where it ranks in my career. I’m still processing it,” he told The Athletic.
With his thumb feeling good, Scherzer said his goals are clear: “I want to still compete and compete for a World Series. I want to continue my career and play in 2026.”
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