The Max Scherzer comeback story took another bad turn this week. The Toronto Blue Jays placed the three-time Cy Young winner on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation, the latest setback in a 2026 season that has been defined by injuries for the future Hall of Famer.
This is not what the Blue Jays signed up for when they brought Scherzer back on a one-year deal during the offseason. The 41-year-old right-hander was supposed to be a stabilizing presence in a rotation that needed veteran experience. Instead, he has spent more time on the IL than on the mound, and the latest injury throws his entire season into question.
The forearm tendinitis is the more concerning issue. Forearm problems are often a precursor to elbow issues for pitchers, and Scherzer has a long history of arm trouble going back to his days with the Mets and Rangers. Any time a veteran pitcher’s forearm is acting up, you have to worry about what might come next.
The ankle issue is unrelated but adds to the picture of a body that is breaking down. Scherzer is 41. He has thrown a lot of innings over the course of his career. The wear and tear is catching up to him in ways that are increasingly hard to manage.
The Jays could not have picked a worse time for another rotation casualty. They just lost Dylan Cease in the middle of Sunday’s game against the Pirates with what looked like an arm injury of his own. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left the same game with an elbow contusion from a hit-by-pitch. The medical staff in Toronto has been working overtime all season, and now they are about to be even busier.
The bigger picture for Toronto is grim. The Blue Jays entered the season with championship aspirations and a payroll that reflected those expectations. They are now hovering around .500 and facing the prospect of being sellers at the trade deadline if things do not turn around quickly. Losing Scherzer for any extended stretch makes that worst-case scenario much more likely.
Scherzer himself has talked openly over the past two seasons about how hard it has been to stay healthy. He had back surgery a couple years ago. He had thumb issues last year. He had a herniated disc that cost him most of the playoff run with the Rangers a few years back. The injuries have piled up to the point where every IL trip raises the question of whether this is the one that ends his career.
He is not ready to retire. Scherzer has been clear in interviews that he wants to keep pitching as long as his body will let him. He has the competitive drive that has defined his entire career, and he is not the kind of guy who is going to walk away because of forearm soreness. But the body is the body, and there is only so much modern medicine can do for a 41-year-old arm with this many innings on it.
The Blue Jays will turn to whatever depth they can find to fill the rotation spot. None of the in-house options are particularly exciting. The minor-league depth has been picked over already, and any external help is going to require a trade that the Toronto front office may not be in a position to make.
The Hall of Fame case for Scherzer is already secure. He has the three Cy Youngs, the two World Series rings, the strikeout totals. He is going to be inducted in Cooperstown the moment he is eligible. What is at stake now is just how much more he can give to the game before his body forces a decision.
For now, the Blue Jays wait. They wait on Scherzer’s forearm. They wait on Cease’s diagnosis. They wait to see if Vlad’s elbow is anything serious. If all three of those waits come back negative, the 2026 season is essentially over before Memorial Day.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
