A key contributor to last year’s World Series run is returning to Toronto.
Max Scherzer agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Blue Jays, according to MLB.com.
The deal includes up to $10 million in incentives.
Scherzer, 41, went 5-5 with a career-worst 5.19 ERA over 17 starts last regular season, his first with Toronto. But the savvy veteran upped his game in the playoffs, going 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in three starts.
That included 4.1 innings of one-run ball in Game 7 of the World Series, which Toronto eventually lost in 11 innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Scherzer, who turns 42 in July, was the oldest pitcher in MLB history to start a World Series Game 7, and he outdueled Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in the early innings of that instant classic.
This is set be the 19th MLB season for Scherzer, who has also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Dodgers, Mets and Texas Rangers.
The Cooperstown-bound right-hander is a three-time Cy Young Award winner with a career record of 221-117 and a career ERA of 3.22.
Scherzer’s 3,489 strikeouts are the 11th most in MLB history. With 21 strikeouts this year, Scherzer would pass Gaylord Perry and move into the top 10.
This week’s agreement comes about a month after Scherzer told The Athletic that he felt healthy and ready to sign but was prepared to wait beyond Opening Day for the right fit.
Now he won’t need to, as he rejoins a Toronto rotation that added ace Dylan Cease on a seven-year, $210 million contract this offseason and also brings back Kevin Gausman and rookie phenom Trey Yesavage.
The Blue Jays went 94-68 last season, matching the Yankees for the best record in the American League. But Toronto won the AL East by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Yankees and Blue Jays are among the teams again vying for the division, though Toronto is set to look a bit different this season.
In addition to adding Cease, the Blue Jays signed Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and relievers Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers but lost star infielder Bo Bichette to the Mets in free agency.
Scherzer, who went 20-9 with a 3.02 ERA with the Mets from 2022-23, reached a deal about two weeks after former teammate Justin Verlander reunited with the Tigers on a one-year, $13 million contract.
