FORT MYERS, Fla. – Starting a Grapefruit League game offers competitive elements that more convenient minor-league outings cannot, so Max Scherzer made the 2½-hour trek from Dunedin to Fort Myers for an important tune-up versus the Minnesota Twins.
The 41-year-old right-hander made the most of a long Friday during his third game of the spring with five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in a 2-1 Blue Jays win. More importantly, he pushed up to 72 pitches, sat at 93.4 m.p.h. with a fastball that topped out at 95.8, executed his slider and changeup and “did everything I need to do to get ready for the season.”
“There’s just an extra-level gear when you’re in a big-league spring training game versus minor leagues,” said Scherzer, who will look to throw roughly six innings and 90 pitches in a minor-league game next before his first outing of the regular season. “The minor leaguers, they’re going to be up there swinging at every first pitch and it’s just a different game. It’s one thing to do it one time, it’s another thing to do it twice before the regular season. I just know I needed to face big-leaguers.”
Returning to the Lee Health Sports Complex 363 days after also making his final spring start here last season offered an interesting contrast in then-versus-now for Scherzer.
A year ago, that outing versus the Twins – he threw 62 pitches, 47 strikes, topping out at 94.7 m.p.h. with a fastball that sat 93.3 during four shutout innings – was a crucial test for his troublesome right thumb.
That was enough for Scherzer to break with the Blue Jays at the end of camp, but he lasted only three innings in his first start of the season before hitting the injured list and didn’t return until the end of June, when a new regimen alleviated his thumb issues.
This spring, the thumb isn’t an issue – “He hasn’t talked about it in a long time,” said manager John Schneider – and it’s been all systems go since he signed a $3-million, one-year deal with up to $10 million in performance bonuses in late February, taking the mound with a piece of mind he hasn’t had since the spring of 2023.
“Oh yeah,” Scherzer said. “Your right arm’s everything, especially your right hand. So to not be dealing with anything on my arm is obviously music to my ears. Now we can worry about all the other little knickknacks that are happening across my body and getting that ready to go and even worry about other things, not my thumb or shoulder.”
Those other things centred around the finer points of pitching Friday, when he kept the Twins under control. He got six groundball outs along with three flyouts and suppressed hard contact while holding his fastball velocity through all five innings, which he insisted isn’t as important as how he used the heater.
“It’s execution,” he said. “Everybody looks at velo but it’s more than that. It’s hitting your spot, hit the glove. That’s what I take pride in, is when the catcher puts the glove in a spot, I need to hit that glove. And so I was doing a pretty good job of that today.”
Scherzer is lined up to make his first regular-season start March 31 against the Colorado Rockies, with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer and Cody Ponce seemingly set up in front of him. That lines up him, Gausman and Cease to start when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit April 6-8 in a clash of the World Series finalists.
What happens once Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber are ready is an issue for down the line and a fair question is what’s a reasonable expectation for how much Scherzer can contribute. As long as he’s in form and unbothered by the thumb issues that nearly blew up his 2025 season, the Blue Jays can count on him pushing the envelope.
“Talking to him, reasonable is like 250 innings and 32 starts,” Schneider said with a grin. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case. We’re going to mindful and when we get some guys back in the rotation, too, there’s going to some manoeuvring, if you will. I’m not saying it’s going be with Max, but if we can have the playoff version of Max as consistent as we can, that’s a really good outcome for us and for him.
“If he’s pitching well, he’s earned the right to go continue to do that until he shows otherwise.”
Bullpen battle
Two spring-training games remain and the Blue Jays are legitimately unsettled about what to do with their final available bullpen spot, which is why Schneider said “every inning is important for a handful of guys right now” with a final decision not coming down until “probably Sunday.”
Chase Lee, who allowed a hit in 1.2 innings Friday, is in consideration along with Connor Seabold, Lazaro Estrada, Adam Macko, Yariel Rodriguez and the two Rule 5 picks, Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo.
Each is capable of protecting the bullpen in case of a short outing by a starter, a priority for the Blue Jays, which is why they sought to extend Lee in this one.
“What I really liked was the strike-throwing,” said Schneider. “I liked the four-seamer at the top of the zone for the broken bat after it was sinker, sinker, sweeper. That’s something he’s been working on. It’s a pretty deliberate approach against him. So I think knowing when to do that was what we were looking for today and he’s not going to beat himself, he’s going to throw his pitch.”
Among the considerations is how to best manage the assets.
Lee, Estrada and Macko are are all on the 40-man roster with options, so they can move up and down as needed. Rodriguez is not on the 40, but with $11 million in guarantees the next two seasons, the Blue Jays can outright him as needed without fear of him being claimed. Seabold is not on the 40-man roster so if the Blue Jays need to make a move with him in a few days, they’d risk losing him, while the Rule-5 picks must remain on the roster all season long or be offered back to their original clubs.
Kasevich impresses
Josh Kasevich added to a strong showing this spring that positioned him to be among the first call-ups if there’s an infield need with a pair of doubles — one that knocked in a run — and more nice defensive work, this time at third base. After the game, he was assigned to minor-league camp along with catcher CJ Stubb and outfielders Yohendrick Pinango and RJ Schreck.
Where has Schneider seen Kasevich progress?
“This is going to be a funny answer, just playing a little bit more freely and not being so methodical, you know people joke about him being kind of robotic at times,” he said. “I think it’s planned. He understands when to take some shots at the plate and really be clocked defensively anywhere we put him. He came in ready which is good, we want to see that, definitely made a good impression, kind of exactly what we hoped for. …
“So cool to see a guy come in, articulate what he wanted to do, and then go do it. I’m pretty pumped about the way he’s swinging.”
