The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t been shy about bringing in older players over the last couple of years. In 2023 it was 35-year-old Brandon Belt. In 2024 it was 39-year-old Justin Turner and, despite not playing in a Toronto uniform in a regular season game, Toronto also brought in 40-year-old Joey Votto. This year, it’s Max Scherzer, who joins the team in his age 40 season (he'll be 41 in August).
Scherzer is not the first player to come to the Blue Jays looking to prove they can still be productive at the Major League level, but, unlike the Belt and Turner signings, Scherzer is one a few Blue Jays who will suit up for the club at age 40 or older. Here’s a look at some of the most noteworthy seasons by Blue Jays players who were 40+.
Dave Stieb (Age 40, 1998)
Stieb got one more afternoon at the park in 1998. After five years away from the game, the best home-grown pitcher Blue Jays history (at that point) returned to Toronto in June and finished the season, mostly in a mop up role out of the bullpen. The most noteworthy moment came on the very last day of the season when the Blue Jays next home-grown star pitcher in the making, Roy Halladay, almost threw a no-hitter. He gave up a home run with two outs in the ninth and the ball went into the bullpen, caught by Stieb himself. Stieb would retire following that season, ending his career by pitching in 19 games at the age of 40.
LaTroy Hawkins (Age 42, 2015)
Hawkins came to the Blue Jays at the 2015 trade deadline as part of the blockbuster deal that brought Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto. Hawkins had 21-years of big league experience under his belt and recorded a 2.71 ERA in 16 1/3 innings in the regular season to help the Blue Jays win the American League East.
R.A. Dickey (Age 40, 2015)
In his penultimate season in Toronto, Dickey was a steady presence in an already strong rotation. The knuckleballer started the most games out of any Blue Jays pitcher, had a 105 ERA+ in 214 1/3 innings and held opponents to a .244 batting average en route to the Blue Jays winning that aforementioned division crown.
Dave Winfield (Age 40, 1992)
What's more noteworthy than driving in the winning run to help a franchise win its first World Series title?
It wasn’t just that one hit that made this a terrific signing for Toronto. Winfield hit .290/.377.491 with 26 home runs, 108 RBI an OPS+ of 138 while recording 4.1 bWAR. He also won a Silver Slugger and finished fifth in AL MVP voting.
Depending on how this season goes, Scherzer could end up being looked at in the same light as Winfield, who is widely regarded as one of the best signings in Blue Jays history. Or he could end up being a guy they took a chance on before he rode off into the sunset. At the very least, the Blue Jays will have their name on his Hall of Fame plaque.