Blue Jays retaining Bieber and Scherzer at trade deadline sets up intriguing winter

The Toronto Blue Jays bid farewell to several players during a busy trade deadline, but Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer weren’t among the players shipped out of town. 

Whether it was because the Blue Jays didn’t receive satisfactory offers or they simply didn’t want to trade them, both pitchers appear set to play out the remainder of the 2026 season in Toronto—but what does that mean for next year? 

Both Bieber and Scherzer have plenty to prove over the season’s final months, yet could wind up back in Toronto next season if things trend positively to close out the schedule. 

Could the Blue Jays re-sign Bieber or Scherzer this offseason? 

The plot has certainly thickened as it pertains to Bieber, who pitched well on Monday night just hours after the deadline passed. He rebounded nicely from a disastrous outing in Washington to hold the Houston Astros to just one run over 5.2 innings. 

He’s pitched well in three of his last four starts, with that six-walk fiasco against the Nationals being an obvious outlier. He appears to be regaining the solid form he showed down the stretch in 2025, which is a positive development considering how disastrous his first few games were this year upon returning from the injured list. 

It’s hard to imagine at least a few playoff contenders didn’t call about Bieber. A team like the Chicago White Sox or Atlanta Braves absolutely could have used him, which suggests that perhaps the Blue Jays felt keeping him would be more valuable than whatever they would get in return. 

There is certainly room in the 2027 Blue Jays rotation for a healthy Bieber. A five-man group of him, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and newcomer José Soriano would be among the best in baseball. The real question is whether he can be trusted to stay healthy after missing the first half of this season with a forearm issue. 

A reunion with Scherzer also shouldn’t be ruled out. The 42-year-old hasn’t indicated he intends to retire at season’s end and tossed a quality start in his last outing. He might still have something in the tank after all. 

It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Scherzer has a short list of teams for which he would consider playing in 2027, with the Blue Jays being one of them. Wrapping up his career in Washington or in Detroit with the Tigers would also be fitting. Either way, none of those teams would—or should—be counting on him to give them serious innings if that ends up being the case. 

Either way, the Blue Jays seemed to prioritize their relationships with both players over trading them for whatever they could get. That could prove to be a wise choice if it leads to a reunion with either in free agency, especially if they pitch well in August and September. Both could be helpful pieces on what will hopefully be a better team in 2027. 

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