Blue Jays finalize Max Scherzer signing, announce corresponding move

The Toronto Blue Jays made their signing of Max Scherzer official on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the team announced it had designated reliever Michael Petersen for assignment.

The Blue Jays signed Petersen off waivers from the Miami Marlins in their first move of the offseason as a depth arm for the bullpen. The 30-year-old made his major league debut last season, recording a 5.95 ERA across 19 2/3 innings (16 appearances) with the Dodgers and Marlins.

While Petersen didn't pitch well in blowouts at the MLB level, he actually pitched well in close games. In games that had a aLI values of 1.00 or higher (which denotes the intensity of any given outing for a pitcher), Petersen had an ERA of 1.42.

While he didn't have much success in MLB, he's done well in the minor leagues in his career. He posted a 1.64 ERA with a 2.29 FIP in 33 innings with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate last season. He also recorded 10 saves thanks to a fastball that sits around 97.1 mph. Now the United Kingdom native will sit on waviers for a week. If he goes unclaimed that he's free to sign with any team.

It's unknown if he'd have any interest in reuniting with the Blue Jays on a minor league contract. He's never gone unclaimed on waivers before.

On the other side of the coin, Toronto announced that the 40-year-old Scherzer passed his physical and the signing is official. His contract is worth $15.5 million for one year, and some escalators according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

He'll earn $150,000 if he wins the American League Cy Young, $50,000 if the makes the All-Star Game, $50,000 if he wins the American League Gold Glove, $25,000 if he wins ALCS MVP and $50,000 if he wins World Series MVP.