Justin Verlander’s retirement puts new spotlight on Max Scherzer’s uncertain Blue Jays future

Justin Verlander will be riding off into the sunset at the end of the 2026 season. The 43-year-old is in the middle of his 21st season in MLB. He'll be heading to this year's All-Star game, added to the MLB All-Star roster as a Legend Pick, which is assigned by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Along with that announcement, Verlander posted his retirement message on social media.

"While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last," he wrote. "It's fitting I get to finish where it all started — with the Detroit Tigers." Verlander has been on the injured list since April and likely won't pitch in the game, but will be in attendance and is expected to be honoured in some way during the week-long festivities.

Verlander has a unique connection to the Toronto Blue Jays. For starters he wasn't overly dominant against them. In 17 games he went 4-8 and pitched to a 4.36 ERA, the fifth worst ERA in his career against a single team, although he managed 101 strikeouts in 109.1 innings. However, he also threw two of his three career no-hitters against the Blue Jays, both coming at Rogers Centre.

The first was on May 7, 2011. He walked one, struck out four and threw 108 pitches in a 9-0 win as a member of the Tigers. Then on Sept. 1 2019, he was electric in a 14 strikeout performance for the Houston Astros. He walked one hitter, and threw 120 pitches in a 2-0 win for Houston.

The other connection to Toronto is to one of the team's current players, Max Scherzer. Scherzer and Verlander were teammates with the Tigers from 2010 through 2014. Verlander was already regarded as one of the premier arms in MLB while Scherzer developed into an ace alongside him after coming over from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scherzer also won his first Cy Young award with the Tigers in 2013, two years after Verlander collected his first.

The two were reunited for a brief time in 2023 when they signed deals to pitch for the New York Mets - a stint that didn't go as planned and both were traded at the deadline that year with the Mets out of contention.

Both guys are heading to the Hall of Fame, and should be no doubt, first ballot members. And that might not be where the similarities end. Both guys are dealing with injuries this year for teams that are currently playing well below their expectations. While Verlander has appeared in one game, Scherzer has already had a few comeback attempts and is working on his latest one right now.

But with Verlander's announcement, it's gotten Blue Jays fans thinking, is Scherzer next?

Mad Max may also be running on borrowed time

This is Scherzer's 19th season in the big leagues and he's posting some of the worst numbers of his career. He's allowed a .303 batting average against in 22 innings, with a 13.7 K% and 10.8 BB%. His FIP stands at 8.80 and his WHIP is currently 1.27.

There was a point in time when the Blue Jays felt like they were really going to need Scherzer in 2026. A veteran presence at the back end of the rotation who would've been motivated to give the most innings he could. His deal was set up with plenty of incentives which would increase his salary, depending on the innings he reached. But all they've gotten is a guy who looks like his best days are well behind him.

This doesn't take away from anything Scherzer has done and his performance in the 2025 postseason for the Blue Jays is the stuff of legends. But as the 2026 season continues to go in a direction nobody expected, it wouldn't be a major surprise if Scherzer followed Verlander into retirement.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow