Blue Jays to sign Max Scherzer

Blue Jays and Right Handder Max Scherzer Allegedly agree on one year agreement with a $ 15.5 mm warranty without postponements. The trade for the Boras Corporation client is pending a physical one. Jays has a full 40-man list and will have to make a similar step to make this official.

Scherzer is obviously a legend in the game and a future Hall of Famer. He debuted back in 2008, has almost 3,000 laps in majors with a 3.16 earned race average, three Cy Young trophies, eight all-star elections and two World Series rings.

The question is what he has left in the thought at this time. He is now 40 years old and comes out of an injured-marred season. He started on the wounded list in 2024 while recovering from offseason -back surgery. Although he recovered from it, he also fought for a nerve problem in his hand, shoulder fatigue and a strained hamstring throughout the season. He was limited to only nine starts and 43 1/3 laps.

It obviously causes some concern, but Scherzer has been remarkably durable throughout his career. In each full season from 2009 to 2023 he started 27 or more starters and logged at least 145 1/3 laps. From 2013 to 2018 he had six equal seasons of hitting 200-in-depth plateau. In short, 2024 was the first season of his career where he missed significant time.

Although the amount of his output was low, some of the results last year were still decent. He published an average of 3.95 deserved races over these nine starts. His strike frequency of 22.6% was a drop for him personally, but still around the league average, while his 5.6% walking speed was still a very strong mark. His speed was also down to his fastball and went from 93.7 miles per hour in 2023 to 92.5 mph last year.

There are obviously some yellow flags in there, but of course it is possible that better health can lead to some better results. It’s a bit of a gamble for Jays, but this is clearly the market percentage for a veteran pitcher with some questions. Each of Justin Verlander. Charlie Morton and Alex Cobb Secured one year’s offer worth $ 15 mm this season. Scherzer came symbolically past that group with an extra half mile.

There are many ways in which Verlander and Scherzer are similar, considering their long careers full of accolades. The two have also crossed trails many times when they were both in the Detroit rotation just over a decade ago before they were reunited with Mets recently. Verlanders 2024 was also injured, though with perhaps some more about numbers. His 17 starts and 90 1/3 laps were more than Scherzer administered, but Verlander had a 5.48 era and his strike frequency fell to 18.7%. Verlander is also a little older by getting 42 next month.

Cobb is only 37, but he only succeeded three starts last year plus two more in the playoffs thanks to his own evil. He also does not have quite the same legendary track record as Scherzer or Verlander. Morton, who is now 41, managed to start 30 starts for Atlanta last year, but he apparently limited his market by having a preference for clubs with spring training sites near his family in Florida.

Jays are associated with almost any available free agent this winter. That have included some players as high -profile position as Juan Soto. Alex Bregman and Pete Alonsoas well as starting pitchers as Roki Sasaki. Max Fried and Corbin Burnes. Obviously, there were some frustrating misses in there, but the club has had a few strikes recently. In the past three weeks they have added Anthony Santander to their lineup, Jeff Hoffman to their bullpen and now Scherzer for the rotation.

While Jays may have preferred to get one of the other starters, Scherzer keeps their commitment short. It also gives the club a very veteran rotational core. Kevin Gausman is 34, Chris Bassitt will be 36 next month and José Berríos will be 31 in May. These four take sure to take the ball with regularity as long as they are all healthy.

If Scherzer avoids damage failure this year, he upgrades rotation and may indirectly upgrade the bullp. Before this signature, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez were projected as the top options for the fourth and last rotation locations. Even with Scherzer in the fold, Francis will probably still have a rotation site. After Jays acted Yusei Kikuchi At the deadline last year, Francis received a rotation audition and ran it. He completed the campaign with 59 laps over nine starts with a 1.53 ERA, 26.5% strike frequency and 3.3% walking speed. He still has a minor league option, but Jays will definitely want to see if he could carry it forward.

It could push Rodríguez into a relief role, something he has done successfully before. Last year, his first was in majors and he started 21 starts with decent results. He had a 4.47 ERA, 23.1% strike frequency and 10.9% walking speed. But before he signed with Jays, he was a dominant closer in Japan. In 2022, he played 56 appearances for the Chunichi drawers with a 1.15 ERA, 27.5% strike frequency and 8.3% walking speed. He sat out in 2023 while trying to be declared a free agent.

Going in in last year, Shi Davidi from Sports Network reported that Rodríguez’s contract decided that he could only be set for the 2024 season. Blue Jays actually chose him a few times last year, but it seems they can’t do it from now The place. He could compete for a gearing role with Hoffman, Yimi García. Chad Green and Erik Swanson.

It would draw a little from the rotational depth, but Jays has a few more options that did last year. They added Jake BlossThere has already been a little triple-a and mlb experience, in the aforementioned Kikuchi agreement. Adam Macko is on the 40-man list and should be in Triple-A this year after spending most of 2024 in Double-A. Alek Manoah Had internal brace surgery in June and could return. As Scherzer is a year’s appointment and Bassitt enters the last year of his covenant, there are long -term openings for that group if any of them have a good show in 2025.

Roster resource Now sets the club’s payroll for $ 250mm and and their competitive balance tax number for $ 273mm. It already sets them far beyond last year’s opening day wages, which COT’s baseball contracts Set of $ 225 mm. Their CBT number was above the line in 2024, but they appeared when their disappointing season led to a deadline sale so they will go into 2025 as “first-time” payers. They are now within a marked distance from the third CBT line, which will be $ 281 mm next year. Going over this marker this year would mean that their top election in the 2026 draft would be pushed back 10 spots.

Despite driving these numbers up to new heights, they don’t seem to be done. Sore BOB NIGHTTTENTHALE FROM USA TodayJays are still interested in Pete Alonso If he doesn’t circling back to mets while Keegan Matheson from mlb.com Also suggests that they still have to have some flexibility. Maybe Jay’s Alonso or someone else adds, or finally gets an extension done with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It’s been a long, frustrating winter for Jay’s fans, but much has changed in the last few weeks, maybe with more in the future. Casters and prisoners report for spring training in about two weeks.

Jon Heyman from New York Post Reported first that Scherzer was on his way to Jays. BOB NIGHTTTENTHALE FROM USA Today first reported it was one year’s appointment. Heyman then reported the $ 15.5mm guarantee. Ben Nicholson-Smith from Sports Network Had first the lack of postponements.