Blue Jays' Pursuit of Max Scherzer Heating Up As Market Dwindles

It's not often that a three-time Cy Young Award winner is still available in late February, but Max Scherzer defies logic as usual.

Scherzer, who pitched well enough to win for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of last year's World Series, remained unsigned as of Friday afternoon. Entering his age-41 season, he's made it clear that he's willing to wait for an opportunity with a contender to come around.

On Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported that the Blue Jays had recently accelerated their pursuit of Scherzer, which could well position them to be the favorites. Here's what we know, not just about the Blue Jays and Scherzer, but the lingering starting pitching free-agent market.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Blue Jays pursuit of Scherzer: "More serious"

Oct 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2025 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

According to Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays' interest in Scherzer coincides with the team's desire to build him up slowly and have rotation reinforcements sometime late in the spring. That's the sort of luxury the defending American League champions can afford.

There are more starting pitchers remaining that would be usable at the major league level than there are free agents at any other position, but Scherzer might be a special case. Rotation-needy teams like the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins, who recently lost starters to injury, may be forced to look elsewhere.

For teams that strike out on Scherzer, very few options remain. The biggest name by far is Lucas Giolito, who pitched to a 3.41 ERA last season for the Boston Red Sox. Right-hander Zack Littell is an interesting major league deal candidate as well, as the 36-year-old ate 186 2/3 innings last year to a sub-four ERA of his own.

Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin, veteran left-handers with up-and-down track records, are two final candidates to slide into a team's rotation by some time early in the year.

For a team like the Blue Jays, which already has a strong rotation and championship expectations, waiting out an X-factor like Scherzer makes sense. Plus, there's a solid chance whichever teams sign those other pitchers wouldn't have been up to Scherzer's championship standards.

More MLB: Red Sox Free Agent Lucas Giolito Still Makes Sense For 3 Teams