Maxwell Scherzer: Everything you need to know

The Blue Jays placed Scherzer on the 15-day injured list Monday due to right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. Scherzer's move to the IL comes three days after he was lit up for seven runs in just 2.1 innings in a loss to the Guardians, which brought his ERA up to 9.64 over five starts on the season. Toronto had been listing Scherzer as its starter for Wednesday's game in Boston, but with the team opting to shelve the veteran rigth-hander, a spot in the rotation could be reopened for lefty Eric Lauer, who was recently moved to the bullpen. Scherzer will be eligible for activation May 10, but the Blue Jays haven't indicated whether he'll be ready to return at this time. For his part, Scherzer doesn't believe he's in line for a long-term absence, as he told Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca that he expects to take the next 5-to-7 days to rest up and heal before resuming a regular throwing program.

Scherzer (1-3) took the loss Friday, surrendering seven runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and three walks over 2.1 innings as the Blue Jays fell 8-6 to the Guardians. He failed to strike out a batter. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer came into the game looking for his 3,500th career strikeout -- a milestone only 10 pitchers in MLB history have reached -- but Scherzer not only failed to get it, he got rocked in an outing that mercifully ended after 82 pitches (51 strikes) once Angel Martinez had taken him deep for the second time. Scherzer's time in the Toronto rotation could be close to ending with both Trey Yesavage (shoulder) and Jose Berrios (elbow) getting closer to coming off the IL, but Eric Lauer and Patrick Corbin have little job security as well. Despite his 9.64 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 10:8 K:BB through 18.2 innings, Scherzer could be able to save his job with a good effort in his next start, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Red Sox.

Scherzer took a no-decision Saturday against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out one. After yielding allowing eight runs his last time out versus the Twins, Scherzer got back on track Saturday with his second quality start of the year and his first since his 2026 debut. It was also the veteran right-hander's first start of the season where he didn't serve up a home run. While Scherzer still has an ugly 7.16 ERA through his first 16.1 frames, he does hold a more palatable 1.29 WHIP and is also set for a fairly soft matchup against the Guardians for his next start.