The most immediate concern for Toronto Blue Jays right-hander and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer is facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Monday’s Game 3 of the 2025 World Series. After that Fall Classic is over, though, the 41-year-old Scherzer’s attention will shift to his upcoming free agency and whether or not he’ll pitch in 2026.
Scherzer is on a one-year, $15.5 million contract with the Jays, which means he’ll soon be a free agent for the fourth time in his career. Recently, Scherzer indicated he’s inclined to exercise those rights and keep pitching, even at an age when most pitchers have retired or been drummed out of the league.
“As long as I can be a starter on a championship-caliber team, I want to keep playing,” Scherzer told the media, including MLB.com. “If my body’s healthy, I want to keep playing. And ever since I got over this thumb issue, it really kind of put a jolt in me that I can still pitch at this level.”
Scherzer is coming off a 2025 regular season for Toronto in which he pitched to a 5.19 ERA and 4.99 FIP with 82 strikeouts, 23 unintentional walks, and 19 home runs allowed in 85 innings. As Scherzer mentioned, thumb inflammation greatly compromised his 2025 in the early weeks and months of the season. He was on the injured list from late March until late June, and even after that he dealt with thumb issues at least until the second week of July. He did enjoy a quality stretch of starts during that span, but back issues cropped up in early September.
In the other dugout at this World Series is Clayton Kershaw, another future Hall of Famer who is retiring after this playoff run. Scherzer and Kershaw were drafted four slots apart in 2006 (Kershaw went seventh overall, Scherzer went 11th), both debuted in 2008 and then eventually became the 19th and 20th members of MLB’s 3,000-strikeout club.
“He’s still throwing 95 [mph], you know?” Kershaw, who is 37, told reporters. “So he’s still got a few years left in the tank, if he wants it.”
The Jays entrusted Scherzer to start the pivotal ALCS Game 4 against the Seattle Mariners, and on Monday night he’ll start the even more pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. Given the three time Cy Young winner’s credentials and continued ability to miss bats, he’ll probably have interest on the market. Scherzer’s tone suggests he’d certainly like to continue pitching, and he seems likely to have that opportunity for 2026. First, though, comes the matter of trying to win his third World Series ring.
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