March 29, the day the Toronto Blue Jays‘ star pitcher pulled out of his first game due to an inflammation in his right lat muscle. The following day, he was placed on the 60-day injured list owing to thumb soreness. Naturally, the team was most harmed by the pitcher’s absence from the field. Shortly after, the 40-year-old was dubbed a “bust” because of his ongoing problems since 2023 and the injuries that prevented him from playing in the majority of the games.
However, the Blue Jays may not have benefited greatly from his presence either. Max Scherzer has been a lost cause in recent years. Scherzer, once touted as one of the greatest pitchers and a potential Hall of Famer, has seen his ERA rise to 3.87 in the last three seasons. Age no longer favored him, and his resilience waned. In comparison to his 2682 innings from 2008 to 2022, he has only managed to pitch 199 innings since 2023. But the Blue Jays’ bust has a chance to prove himself because manager John Schneider gave a significant update regarding his comeback to the mound.
Following the 4-2 loss against the White Sox on Sunday, John Schneider believes that Max Scherzer’s return can be a game-changing moment for them. “He’s ready to go,” the manager exclaimed, hoping that he would be able to throw 90 pitches. Schneider further added, “Really, really excited to have him back. That’s a huge, huge, obviously, addition to us. It’s Max Scherzer. I’ll take that any day of the week.”
With his return to the mound against Cleveland on Wednesday evident, John Schneider has been closely monitoring his progress. Scherzer managed to throw around 30 to 40 pitches in the bullpen. Since Schneider is still confident in Scherzer’s enormous experience and his competitive spirit, it is unquestionably a positive sign.
There were glimpses of his good pitching in his rehab starts. On Wednesday, while playing for the Triple-A Buffalo, he managed to strike out four batters while allowing two runs in his 4 1/3 innings. However, he was even more effective on Friday, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out eight batters.
Max Scherzer’s return will also mark his journey towards redemption. He will try to shed the “bust” image that he has been carrying around for a while. Now that he is pitching to his full capacity and his velocity is clocking in between 92 and 94 mph in his Triple-A rehab outing, the Blue Jays will finally have their five-man rotation that they were missing since March.
The manager seems happy with the way Max Scherzer is doing and confirmed that he will be back on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a confirmation also comes from Scherzer’s side, who delivered a message for his fans.
Blue Jays ‘Bust’ looking to get back this throne with blockbuster return
There has been a noticeable sense of relief in the Blue Jays‘ clubhouse ever since Max Scherzer’s return was announced. Now that it is confirmed by the manager, Max Scherzer is all ready to be back in the starting rotation. However, there’s still something that he will need to keep track of to get better.
“My stuff is fine. I’m trying everything I can to manage this thumb and make sure I can recover… There’s no knowing; just have to get out there,” Scherzer told reporters. Although he remains positive, let’s not forget that Scherzer just came back from the injury, and his previous seasons weren’t impressive. And to ensure that things get back on track, he needs to pitch.
It’s a fact that his injury sidelined him for most of the season. He was able to make only one start for the three innings he pitched for the Blue Jays. He was equally unimpressive in 2023, where he went 13-6 with a 3.77 ERA across the 27 starts he made with the Mets and the Rangers. Even worse was the following season, when he was only able to make nine starts for the Texas Rangers before agreeing to a $15.5 million, one-year contract with the Blue Jays.
Toronto has been missing one starter since then. However, in his second Triple-A rehab start, Max Scherzer threw a full 75 pitches over 4⅓ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts — a strong sign that he’s trending toward full readiness. The Blue Jays will expect him to be in that range in the upcoming games.
Meanwhile, with the sudden injury to Bowden Francis that pushed him onto the injured list, Scherzer’s comeback to the mound is something that the Blue Jays need more than ever. Do you think Scherzer will find his rhythm just in time?
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