Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer said Saturday that he plans to take some time to determine if he’d like to come back for a 20th major-league season in 2027.
“I’m going to make this decision about playing next year later in the offseason,” Scherzer said. “I’ve gone through ups and downs throughout the season, I get it, but I’ve gotten to the point where I’m pretty healthy. 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. Get to the offseason and see how things unfold.”
Scherzer, 42, is slated to start Sunday’s season finale against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
“I just want to go out there and pitch (on Sunday), knowing that you never know, it could be my last,” said Scherzer, who is 3-9 with a career-worst 6.14 ERA in 17 appearances (all starts) this season.
“Just in case. We’ve been eyeing this on the calendar for a couple of weeks now, knowing I was going to make the start in Baltimore (on Wednesday), but the kids were in school so we weren’t able to get them to Baltimore. We had circled this one, if we were out of it, to still pitch Sunday. It gives me a chance to pitch in front of my kids one more time, if it is (the end). If it’s not, who knows?”
A two-time World Series champion, three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, Scherzer is 224-126 in 500 games (491 starts). He ranks ninth all-time in strikeouts (3,550).
“I have no idea how I’m going to feel here in six months,” Scherzer said. “For me, right now it’s just about being healthy, pitching in this last game and having fun with it, then seeing what happens. I really don’t have any expectations of what happens. Pitching is so much fun. You never know. Really, I have no idea.”
Scherzer has pitched with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2008-09), Detroit Tigers (2010-14), Washington Nationals (2015-21), Los Angeles Dodgers (2021), New York Mets (2022-23), Texas Rangers (2023-24) and Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
