CLEARWATER, Fla. – Before Max Scherzer's first start of the spring, he spent some time talking with John Schneider in the manager’s office at the team’s player development complex.
These pre-game discussions were a near-daily fixture of the Blue Jays’ 2025 run to the World Series, and as soon as Scherzer arrived in camp this week, they immediately resumed. The conversations typically begin about baseball minutiae, but before long, they veer into different topics with occasional cameos from the likes of outfielder Myles Straw or pitching coach Pete Walker.
“They're never dull,” Schneider said. “Pretty fun. But yeah, you never really know where it's going to go.”
This Saturday, ahead of Scherzer’s 2026 Grapefruit League debut, the eight-time all-star remarked to Schneider and Walker that young pitchers often throw hard early in spring. But as the 41-year-old Scherzer told Schneider and Walker, he doesn’t feel the need to do that. Better to ramp up gradually, he said.
So when Scherzer touched 96 m.p.h. in his first inning of action since pitching Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, Walker and Schneider joked that they were surprised to see him come out quite that hot.
"I wasn't expecting that," a smiling Schneider said after the game in a tunnel at BayCare Ballpark. "I thought he was really good. He looked like him – just in control of what he was doing."
When Scherzer broke down his outing from a spot nearby, his tone was neutral.
“Checked a lot of boxes today,” he said. “I feel good, and I’m looking forward to my next one.”
Of course, velocity is just one part of the equation. Although other aspects of Scherzer’s start were equally encouraging, lending credence to his insistence that he’ll be ready on time for Opening Day and adding to the sense of optimism around the Blue Jays’ starting rotation.
“Really good to see he seems healthy,” said catcher Tyler Heineman. “Any time we can get him to be healthy, we have a chance to get the best out of him. Then, on top of that, just how sharp he was for it being early March.”
Not only did Scherzer throw hard, but he mixed in five pitches while attacking the strike zone. In fact, the very first hitter of the game tested his repertoire as Trea Turner, his former teammate with the Nationals, grinded out a 10-pitch at-bat before popping out to second base.
As much training as Scherzer had done on his own in recent weeks, he gains even more from the challenge of facing a two-time batting champion like Turner.
“To get into a battle with him is great,” Scherzer said. “You can’t simulate that. That’s a game situation. Like, okay, that’s a 10-pitch at-bat. Now, what do you do on the 11th pitch with the next hitter? You’ve got to be executing in that spot. You can’t relax. So that’s the stuff you just can’t replicate, and that’s why it’s good to be out here in spring.”
As Turner circled back towards the Phillies’ dugout, he and Scherzer exchanged a few words.
“Yeah, we had a little fun inside joke going on,” Scherzer said. “It’s a good time.”
From there, Scherzer settled in, averaging 94 m.p.h. with his fastball, up from the 93.6 m.p.h. he averaged in 2025 and ahead of where he was in his recent bullpen sessions.
He was efficient with his pitches, needing only 40 to cover four innings against a Phillies lineup including regulars like Turner, Alec Bohm and Adolis Garcia. Some strong defence helped, including yet another impressive play by minor-league shortstop Josh Kasevich, who continues to impress. And while Scherzer struck out just one hitter, he did generate six swinging strikes on a day his change-up was especially effective.
"It just shows that he was doing what he needed to do before we signed him," Schneider said. "The work here was really good."
“I thought he was great,” added Heineman. “His locations were really good.”
The way Schneider sees it, Scherzer’s velocity and breaking stuff are ahead of where they were this time last year. More importantly, though, Scherzer believes he’s found a way around the thumb issue that sidelined him for stretches during the first half of the 2025 season.
“It was at this point last year that the thumb came back into play,” Scherzer recalled.
A year later, there’s a significant difference.
“It just doesn’t hurt my arm,” Scherzer said. “I can manage this. It allows my arm to be normal and now I can pitch normal.”
From here, Scherzer will continue building up volume beyond 40 pitches while also working to sharpen up his location and pitch shapes – all standard stuff for pitchers at this point in the spring.
There’s still work to do with nearly three weeks remaining before opening day, yet Saturday’s outing answered some questions about Scherzer’s timeline to the big leagues. After the way he handled the Phillies so efficiently, any conversation about the opening-day roster is incomplete without the three-time Cy Young winner.
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