What Max Scherzer’s Next Injury Rehab Start Means for Blue Jays Rotation

The work will continue for Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters in San Francisco, including MLB.com, that the 41-year-old pitcher would make his next rehab start on Wednesday with Triple-A Buffalo. That’s a standard cadence for him, as he made his first rehab start on Friday with High-A Vancouver.

The right-hander has been on the injured list since June 17 with back spasms. The decision to set his next rehab start means something for the Blue Jays rotation.

What Max Scherzer’s Next Rehab Start Means

Just Max Scherzer doing Max Scherzer things. 😮‍💨#AtTheNat pic.twitter.com/fRrwQhOPFS
— Vancouver Canadians (@vancanadians) July 3, 2026

Scherzer is starting on Wednesday on normal rest, the same type of rest he would have at the Major League level. But, by slotting him into a Wednesday start, it eliminates any faint hope that he could re-join the rotation before the All-Star break.

The first half of the season ends on Sunday and Scherzer would only have less than normal rest to pitch on that Sunday. So, Toronto will have to without him for the rest of the road trip, which ends on Sunday in San Diego.

What happens after that isn’t clear. Many of the Blue Jays’ affiliates get the All-Star break off, too. If he wants to stay on a rehab cadence during the All-Star break his next start would be Monday. It would either have to be a simulated game, or he would have to go pitch with the Blue Jays’ Florida Complex League team, which plays on Monday. That would keep him on a cadence that would allow him to return to the Blue Jays the weekend after the All-Star break.

Based on his first rehab start at Vancouver, two starts may be necessary for the three-time Cy Young winners. On Friday he threw 49 pitches, with 33 of those being strikes. He gave up three hits, two runs, two walks and struck out three in three innings.

What he needs right now is length. Most rehab assignments have starting pitchers ramp up in 15-pitch increments. By that standard, Scherzer needs two more starts to get to a minimum of 75 pitches, which most teams look at as the “standard” by which to decide on activation.

This move keeps Scherzer on track to put him in a position to help the Blue Jays as the second half of the season begins. Toronto needs his depth. Right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation limited him to just six starts in 2026, as he’s 1-4 with a 10.23 ERA. He struck out 11, walked 14 and gave up nine home runs in 22 innings.

He missed the first three months of last season with right thumb inflammation. He returned for the second half and finished the season 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts. But he came up huge in the World Series.

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