Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer revealed his timeline to return after being placed on the injured list on Monday.
Scherzer was placed on the 15-day IL due to right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. The 41-year-old Scherzer has been dealing with numerous ailments this year, and after a disastrous start to his season, the Blue Jays decided it was time to give him a breather. Fortunately, it looks like this isn’t a serious, long-term injury, and that the legend will be able to return to the Blue Jays in short order, assuming his recovery goes well.
He noticed that his left foot/ankle was making him tweak his mechanics during his last outing.
He’ll shut down for now and evaluate over the next week. #BlueJays
“Max Scherzer tells us he’s dealing with a ‘double whammy’ between his forearm and his left foot/ankle. He noticed that his left foot/ankle was making him tweak his mechanics during his last outing. He’ll shut down for now and evaluate over the next week,” wrote MLB’s Keegan Matheson.
2026 Has Been Unkind to Max Scherzer
2026 has been, by far, the worst season of Scherzer’s Hall of Fame career. Through his first five starts of the season, Scherzer has posted a ghastly 9.64 ERA and a -0.8 bWAR. Although Scherzer didn’t have a great regular season in 2025 for the Blue Jays, he really stepped it up for the team in the World Series, with the Blue Jays ultimately falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
During the offseason, Scherzer was one of the last big-name pitchers who were left unsigned, but with the Blue Jays dealing with numerous injuries to their starting pitchers, they brought back Scherzer on a one-year, $3 million contract with incentives. At the time, it seemed like a good signing for the Blue Jays, given how well Scherzer performed in last year’s playoffs. But this season has been unkind to him so far, and it looks like he is nearing the end of the road.
Scherzer is just one strikeout shy of 3,500 for his career, a number he no doubt wants to hit sooner rather than later. But after being placed on the 15-day IL, he will have to wait at least a few weeks for that to happen, and potentially longer, depending on how he recovers from his injuries.
Blue Jays Begin Key Series With Boston Red Sox
The Blue Jays begin a key series with the Boston Red Sox on Monday in a battle between the fourth- and fifth-place teams in the American League East. The Blue Jays have had a rough start to the season, but the Red Sox have had an even rougher start. The Red Sox recently fired their longtime manager, Alex Cora, after their slow start to 2026, and they hope they can start winning games now to get back in the playoff hunt before it’s too late.
As for the Blue Jays, they have won back-to-back series for the first time all season, defeating the Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Guardians in two straight series before taking on the Red Sox this week at home in what should be a very exciting three-game set.
Max Scherzer Reveals Timeline for Return to Blue Jays