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Just 10 days after signing Anthony Santander, the Toronto Blue Jays have made another splash in free agency.
Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer has agreed to a deal with the Blue Jays, per Jon Heyman. The one-year contract is worth $15.5 million. That's a huge addition to an already strong rotation consisting of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and Jose Berrios. Scherzer is an eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young winner. While he's dealt with injuries in past seasons, Scherzer can still be a dominant figure when healthy.
This is a solid signing for the Blue Jays, who haven't done much this offseason. Scherzer spent the last 1.5 seasons with the Texas Rangers, but things didn't exactly go to plan. After they acquired him from the New York Mets at the 2023 trade deadline, he only made eight appearances due to injuries but still got a ring as the Rangers won the Fall Classic.
2024 was also ravaged by health issues. The 40-year-old only made nine starts and his first didn't come until June. Yes, he's clearly getting older and perhaps not as durable as he used to be, but that doesn't mean Scherzer can't be effective for the Blue Jays. When he's actually on the mound, the righty still sits in the low to mid-90s with his fastball and complements the heater with quality off-speed stuff.
'23 was his last respectable season. Scherzer made 23 starts between the Mets and Rangers, compiling a 3.77 ERA, and striking out 174 hitters in 152.2 innings of work. He will be joined by Gausman, Bassitt, Berrios, and Bowden Francis in the Blue Jays rotation this season.
Other than bringing in Santander and Scherzer, Toronto has also added Myles Straw, Andres Gimenez, and Jeff Hoffman. They of course missed out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes but could still be in the mix for Pete Alonso and/or Alex Bregman, who remain two of the better free agents left on the open market.
