Max Scherzer didnāt say goodbye.
Thatās the part people keep missing.
In the immediate aftermath of the Toronto Blue Jaysā devastating Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series, the moment felt final. The crowd stood. The lights dimmed. The season ended one win short of history.

But Scherzerās words cut through the silence.
āI just donāt see how thatās the last pitch Iāve ever thrown.ā
At 41 years old, after two decades of intensity, dominance, and reinvention, Scherzer wasnāt offering nostalgia. He was issuing a warning.

Heās not done.
Toronto signed Scherzer last February on a one-year, $15.5 million deal that came with risk. His recent seasons with the Mets and Rangers were riddled with injuries, and the regular season numbers in 2025 didnāt help his case: a career-worst 5.19 ERA across 17 starts and just 85 innings.
On paper, it looked like the end was arriving right on schedule.

But Max Scherzer has never followed paper narratives.
When October arrived, the switch flipped. Scherzer made three postseason starts for the American League champions, posting a 3.77 ERA and delivering something the Blue Jays rotation desperately neededācomposure when everything tightened.

Then came Game 7.
Facing the Dodgers with a championship hanging in the balance, Scherzer gave Toronto 4ā innings of one-run baseball, striking out three and keeping the Jays alive long enough to dream. When he exited the mound, the ovation wasnāt polite. It was grateful.
It felt like closure.
Scherzer didnāt see it that way.

Now, as the 2026 season approaches, Scherzer remains unsignedābut not uncertain. In recent interviews, heās been clear: heās healthy, ready, and waiting. Not desperate. Not chasing innings. Waiting for the right call.
Heās willing to sign late. Even after Opening Day.
That alone changes the market.
At 41 (42 in July), Scherzer isnāt looking to be an ace anymore. Heās looking for leverage in moments that matter. Short bursts. High stakes. October baseball.

And thatās exactly where Toronto enters the conversation again.
The Blue Jays didnāt just lose a World Seriesāthey tasted how close they were. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remains in his prime. The roster knows what the final stage feels like now. And Scherzer knows it too.
Multiple reports suggest Scherzer views Toronto as unfinished business.
Not nostalgia. Purpose.
Fans have noticed. Social media has filled with pleas for a reunion. Not because Scherzer was dominant all yearābut because he was there when it mattered. Because he didnāt shrink. Because the fire still showed.
A return wouldnāt be about stats. It would be about tone.
In a rotation full of youth and volatility, Scherzer represents something rare: postseason memory. The kind that doesnāt panic. The kind that teaches without speeches.
Of course, Toronto isnāt alone.
The Padres have been mentioned. The Phillies. Even a sentimental return to Detroit, where Scherzerās career first ignited. Sportsbooks list the Blue Jays as slight favorites, but Scherzerās own words suggest heās choosing environment over geography.
He wants a chance to finish properly.
Thatās the dangerāand the opportunity.
If Toronto brings him back on a short-term, incentive-heavy deal, they gain more than innings. They gain a reminder of how close they were, and a voice in the room that knows what one run feels like in Game 7.
If they donāt, the ripple will be felt anyway. Somewhere else. In October. Possibly against them.
Scherzer has never faded quietly. From no-hitters to championships, from injury setbacks to reinvention, heās always forced the league to adjust around him.
This is just the latest version.
The next pitch he throws wonāt just define his endingāit may define someone elseās season.
For Blue Jays fans, hope lives in that uncertainty.
Because as long as Max Scherzer hasnāt thrown his last pitch, the 2026 season is still very much unfinished.
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