After weeks of rumors linking the Blue Jays’ 41-year-old to the San Francisco Giants, a Tuesday afternoon interview subtly shed light on the veteran pitcher’s ultimate destination. Many argued that due to the veteran’s aging and injury concerns, Toronto might be better served by targeting a younger and steadier arm in the free-agent market. But perhaps that’s not the case.

Max Scherzer recently appeared on The Leafs Nation where Former NHL star Jay Rosehill asked him about his playoff run with the Blue Jays and the “unfinished business” after losing a tight Game 7 in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“For us, the way we look at it, usually when you have a crushing defeat like that, it’s like something that you always want to turn to. In our clubhouse, we don’t feel like that one bit.”

Scherzer, referring to the Blue Jays as “us,” “we,” and “our,” was a major hint. But that was not all.

“I want everybody in the same situation, playing the same ball. We want to go back out there. We’re actually proud of the way we played. We did everything right in a lot of different ways. So, the notion that there’s some ‘unfinished business,’ yeah! We know we’re a championship-caliber team, and we want to do that.”

While Scherzer didn’t isn’t satisfied with how the baseball gods played it all, he is determined to come back stronger. But even with that, he didn’t ignore the business side of MLB.

“The team’s not gonna look the same.”

He understands that there will be new signs, trades because that’s just how baseball operates. Yet, Max Scherzer is hopeful.

“From our standpoint, we just want everybody back. We want to get as many guys as we can back because we just know how the clubhouse works. We know how well we play together. It’s such a good thing that we had there in ’25 that we want to do in ’26.”

Since mid-February 2025, Toronto has been a tight-knit team, celebrating and supporting each other. From celebrating each other’s home runs to advising one another for better performance, the Blue Jays almost had it all.

And talking about Scherzer, his data says why these hints scream good news.

Across 17 regular-season appearances with the Blue Jays, the 41-year-old posted a 5.19 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. It wasn’t his sharpest stretch, but he still showed enough poise and experience for the team to trust him when it mattered most.

That trust paid off!

During the postseason, Scherzer elevated his game. He dropped his ERA to 3.77 and helped Toronto with the stability they needed in their rotation.

The Blue Jays even handed him the ball for Game 7 of the World Series. And in 4.1 innings against the Dodgers, he allowed only one run on four hits. He gave his team the early lead they needed.

If the Blue Jays can lure Scherzer back on a hometown discount, it could be worth the investment given his playoff performance. He clearly still has plenty left in the tank. And of course, his eagerness to improve as a team was evident during the interview.

But what if Scherzer doesn’t return?

The Blue Jays could swap Max Scherzer for a Hall of Fame arm

With a few openings in their rotation, adding pitching should be high on the Blue Jays’ offseason tasks. MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince weighed in on the situation recently.

He predicted that Toronto would ultimately sign nine-time All-Star Justin Verlander.

He emphasized that with Shane Bieber returning, the Blue Jays don’t need to chase a massive splash. However, they do need more depth. In his projection, Max Scherzer heads to San Francisco to reunite with his former pitching coach, Tony Vitello.

Whereas Verlander, who proved to be the more durable of the two 40-something future Hall of Famers last season, could join Toronto in pursuit of another ring.

Justin Verlander was definitely solid for the Giants in 2025.

He made 29 starts and posted a 3.85 ERA over 152 innings. Even at 42, he saved his best work for the end of the year. He put up a stellar 2.60 ERA across his final 13 starts.

So, if the Blue Jays strike out on names like Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease, this would be a smart fallback option for them.