Blue Jays gave Max Scherzer a near-perfect farewell, but he may not be ready to say goodbye

There was a lot of fanfare around Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer during the final week of the regular season, as the pair of former teammates delivered heroic performances in the final starts of their respective Hall of Fame careers. We even got some memorable send-offs from the mound, as Verlander got taken out of the game by his daughter and Scherzer initially refused to come out of his contest, barking at manager John Schneider to get back in the dugout.

Here's the thing, though: Are we really sure that was the last we've seen of Mad Max. Verlander made it very clear that the 2026 season would be his last; Scherzer never offered any such clarification on his retirement.

Now, we've gotten an indication that the door is indeed cracked open for a return. Ahead of an impending lockout and a potential 20th season in the big leagues, Scherzer told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that he'll gauge his desire to keep going during the downtime of the offseason.

Max Scherzer will assess his MLB future during lockout, though Blue Jays can't monitor his progress until it ends

Scherzer plans to participate in what he called "lockout games," which will be informal scrimmages with pro or pro-adjacent players. Because he's a member of the MLBPA and thus will be locked out once the collective bargaining agreement expires, teams won't be able to scout him during these performances. But, at this point, everyone should have all the data they need on the right-hander.

Health obviously remains the chief concern, seeing as he hasn't completed more than 85 innings in a season since 2023. Back, forearm, shoulder, and hamstring injuries are just a few of the tribulations he's dealt with in that time, all of which have certainly sapped some of his effectiveness of the mound. He's recorded a 5.46 ERA with the Blue Jays over the past two seasons, with a 5.05 FIP that confirms he's slowing down.

Still, Scherzer has proven to be a relentless competitor throughout his legendary career, a reputation he more than lived up to while making a strong start in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. After watching that ring slip from his fingers, he made it clear that he intended to return for another season with the intention of winning that elusive third title.

It remains to be seen if another year of injuries -- not to mention the Blue Jays' nosedive in the standings -- have affected Scherzer's desire to compete for one last championship. But he's at least left the door open for a return, which could bring him back to Toronto if the Blue Jays remain in need of rotation depth on the other side of the lockout.

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