Rangers' Star Pitcher Leaves in Free Agency

On Thursday afternoon, it was announced that future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer has signed a one-year deal for $15.5 million with the Toronto Blue Jays. Scherzer spent the past two seasons with the Rangers and played a pivotal role in the team's 2023 World Series run.

Although Scherzer was a solid member of the Rangers rotation while healthy, his time in Texas was bogged down by a myriad of lingering injuries. Through two seasons, he was only able to pitch in a total of 17 regular season games for the Rangers. 

While Scherzer was sidelined for the majority of his stint in Arlington, he occasionally showed flashes of the ferocious pitcher he once was. He finished his 2023 campaign with the Rangers with a solid 3.20 ERA and 53 strikeouts through only eight games. 

Scherzer did go through somewhat of a regression during his 2024 season and, unfortunately, was one of many Rangers pitchers who was hit by the injury bug during the season. Although he was only able to appear in nine games, Scherzer was still able to finish his season with a respectable 3.95 ERA and 40 strikeouts. 

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how big of a role Scherzer, who is now 40, will be able to play for the Blue Jays. While Scherzer is well past his prime, the Bluejays still could use any help they can get from the former ace as the Blue Jays finished last season near the bottom of the league in several pitching categories, with an overall 4.29 ERA, which is far from ideal.

While Scherzer's time with the Rangers was underwhelming, it is still disappointing to see him go elsewhere. Many were hoping he would be an additional reinforcement to the Rangers' somewhat dismantled rotation, but it appears they will have to make do without him.

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