The Blue Jays and right-hander Max Scherzer are in settlement on a deal, reviews Jon Heyman of The New York Put up. It’s a one-year pact, per Bob Nightengale of USA At the moment. It’s a $15.5MM assure, per Heyman. There received’t be any deferrals within the deal, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The deal for the Boras Company consumer is pending a bodily.
Scherzer is clearly a legend within the sport and a future Corridor of Famer. He debuted again in 2008, has nearly 3,000 innings within the majors with a 3.16 earned run common, three Cy Younger trophies, eight All-Star alternatives and two World Sequence rings.
The query is what he has left within the tank at this level. He’s now 40 years previous and coming off an injury-marred season. He began 2024 on the injured record whereas recovering from offseason again surgical procedure. Although he recovered from that, he additionally battled a nerve problem in his hand, shoulder fatigue and a strained hamstring all through the season. He was restricted to simply 9 begins and 43 1/3 innings.
That clearly creates some concern however Scherzer has been remarkably sturdy all through his profession. In every full season from 2009 to 2023, he made 27 or extra begins and logged a minimum of 145 1/3 innings. From 2013 to 2018, he had six straight seasons of hitting the 200-inning plateau. Briefly, 2024 was the primary season of his profession the place he missed important time.
Regardless that the amount of his output was low, among the outcomes final 12 months have been nonetheless respectable. He posted a 3.95 earned run common over these 9 begins. His 22.6% strikeout price was a drop for him personally however nonetheless round league common, whereas his 5.6% stroll price was nonetheless a really robust mark. His velocity was down as nicely on his fastball, going from 93.7 miles per hour in 2023 to 92.5 mph final 12 months.
There are clearly some yellow flags in there nevertheless it’s in fact doable that higher well being might result in some higher outcomes. It’s a little bit of a chance for the Jays however that is clearly the market price for a veteran pitcher with some query marks. Every of Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Alex Cobb secured one-year offers value $15MM this offseason. Scherzer symbolically received previous that group with an additional half mil.
There are numerous methods wherein Verlander and Scherzer are related, given their prolonged careers stuffed with accolades. The 2 have additionally crossed paths many occasions, as they have been each within the Detroit rotation simply over a decade in the past, earlier than reuniting with the Mets extra lately. Verlander’s 2024 was additionally injury-marred, although with maybe some extra regarding numbers. His 17 begins and 90 1/3 innings have been greater than Scherzer managed however Verlander had a 5.48 ERA and his strikeout price dropped all the best way to 18.7%. Verlander can also be a bit older, about to show 42 subsequent month.
Cobb is barely 37 however he solely managed three begins final 12 months, plus two extra within the playoffs, due to his personal maladies. He additionally doesn’t fairly have the identical legendary monitor document as Scherzer or Verlander. Morton, who’s now 41, managed to make 30 begins for Atlanta final 12 months however he seemingly restricted his market by having a choice for golf equipment with spring coaching websites close to his household in Florida.
The Jays have been linked to simply about each obtainable free agent this winter. That has included some high-profile place gamers like Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, in addition to beginning pitchers like Roki Sasaki, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes. There have been clearly some irritating misses in there, however the membership has had a few strikes extra lately. Previously three weeks, they’ve added Anthony Santander to their lineup, Jeff Hoffman to their bullpen and now Scherzer to the rotation.
Extra to come back.
