Blue Jays Facing Difficult Decision On Future Hall Of Famer

The Toronto Blue Jays, all of a sudden, are getting healthy, which could make for some intriguing roster decisions.

Toronto is expected to activate All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk off the injured list ahead of its series against the New York Yankees beginning on June 12. Meanwhile, former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber likely only has one or two rehab starts left before being activated off the injured list.

Once Bieber is activated, Toronto will have six starting pitchers for five spots, and it likely will come down to Patrick Corbin or future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer as to who gets removed from the rotation and likely the roster.

Scherzer dealt with injuries earlier in the year, which led Toronto to sign Corbin, who has been a savior for the rotation. Scherzer, meanwhile, returned to the rotation on June 10 against the Philadelphia Phillies and struggled once again.

The 41-year-old is now 1-4 with a 10.23 ERA in six starts as he's gone past the fourth inning just twice, and has three starts where he hasn't gone past the third inning.

It's been a frustrating season for Scherzer, who returned to the Blue Jays on a cheap one-year, $3 million deal, which was loaded with incentives. Although he pitched well in the playoffs in Toronto last season and is one of the best pitchers of his generation, unfortunately, he appears to be the odd man out of the rotation.

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Although DFA'ing Scherzer would be tough to do, especially to a well-respected veteran like him, there is another move the Blue Jays can make.

Scherzer is an important clubhouse voice and a mentor not only to pitchers but to all the players on the Blue Jays' roster. So, there is value in having him around. A potential move Toronto can make is to place him on the injured list, seemingly shutting him down, and using him more as a coach for the rest of the season.

Whether or not Scherzer would agree to that is another question, but it very well could be that or being DFA'd and then released, as Toronto can't afford to keep sending the future Hall of Famer out every five days.

Blue Jays Won't Make 'Knee-Jerk' Reaction On Scherzer

In Scherzer's return from the injured list, the right-hander went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits, while walking three and striking out four.

It was another frustrating start for Scherzer, and many Blue Jays fans called for him to be off the roster once Bieber is back. However, manager John Schneider said he wanted to see more from the future Hall of Famer.

"You want to try to see what it looks like when he gets some consistent work and evaluate it then. I think he's earned that," Schneider said postgame, via MLB.com. "That's the reason we signed him back. You don't want to make any knee-jerk reactions after a month-plus off."

Scherzer, meanwhile, also knows he has to execute his pitches better, which hasn't happened for him in 2026.

"You can have good stuff and still get beat in this league," Scherzer said. "You've got to execute pitches and be ahead of the hitters. They grinded me apart, and I made a bad pitch with a couple of runners on base."

However, one bright spot for Scherzer as he recorded his 3500th strikeout, becoming just the 11th pitcher in MLB history to reach that number. He's now just 13 strikeouts away from entering the top-10 all-time, which would be a special feat, but whether or not he will get enough starts to accomplish that is to be seen.

"That's something we'll celebrate Friday," Scherzer said. "Every time I have one of these milestone games, I've always won, so you're always able to enjoy it in the moment. This one's different, doing it in a loss. I came here to win today. I came here for milestones. I'm pitching to win and win the whole thing. It's great to get the milestone and it's great in the first out of the game. At a different point in time, I'll celebrate it more."

Scherzer is an eight-time MLB All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner.

Related: Brandon Valenzuela Making Blue Jays' Tough Roster Decision Easy

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 8:33 AM.