Veteran Starter Scherzer continues to evolve

Dunedin-blue Jays Joys Right-handed Kevin Gausman shakes his arm when he thinks back to get into the batter’s box to combat the now-teammate Max Scherzer.

Gausman, who was at Baltimore at the time of the Interleague series 2018 against Washington, remembers specific details of the matchup.

“I made an interaction and I thought I hyperexted my elbow,” said Gausman. “I thought I was completely over it and then, you know, you know, (cases).”

Scherzer has made a Hall of Fame career to have batters guessed.

The 40-year-old right-handed, who recently signed a one-year-old deal with Toronto, said he is proud of how he developed as a pitcher.

“It’s a cat and mouse game,” said Scherzer Sunday. “Evolving should just be part of your DNA. You have to welcome it. That’s what we do. “

Scherzer, a triple Cy Young Award winner, relies on a fastball with four seams in a repertoire with a slider, curve, change and cutter.

Combined with a delivery with different looks, Scherzer still seems to have a game after 17 seasons with a large league.

“Deception is the thing that we cannot quantify now,” he said. “That is one of the things that I have always strived (because) is being misleading. Hide the ball and do not show him the hitters.

“I feel that that is really good for the pitcher if you have a misleading, funky delivery.”

“Power” and “Funk” were some of the words that Gausman used to describe his first Scherzer experience.

“He hides the ball a little behind his head and you just don’t see it,” he said. “His things are great too. It is a mixture of that and it will never do it easy for you. “

Scherzer, who made his debut in 2008 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, joins his seventh Big League team. He won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019 and with Texas in 2023.

Back surgical recovery and a nerve edition limited him to nine games last season, but he is satisfied with how he rises in the player development complex of Blue Jays.

“I am” exactly where to be, “he said.” I will soon be here in a live (strike exercise) and then games after that. From now on I have had a great out of season and I am looking forward to coming back . “

The eight times All-Star agrees with a formidable rotation by Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios. Bowden Francis is a good gamble for fifth place and Yariel Rodriguez will also be stretched.

Trending now

• Tourist was seriously injured after approaching shark for photo in Turkish and Caicos

• Extreme cold warnings issued for the majority of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Scherzer has drawn a crowd for his throwing sessions in the development complex of the Jays player. Pitchers of all ages would like to collect some info by viewing one of the masters of the game.

“We are fired to have every aspect of him,” said Ross Atkins, general manager of Blue Jays. “The competitiveness, professionalism, which he entails. It is clear that the back of the baseball card is the top.

“There is not much better than Max Scherzer and what he has achieved.”

Scherzer’s trademark intensity is clear, regardless of whether it is a game 7 situation or his first dull session of spring.

“I really enjoyed watching him for the pitch clock because he would hit a man and he would walk all the way to second base,” said Gausman. “He would go on this large circle around the hill and he just had an aura about himself.

“If you were not ready to go, the game would be over and you could see it on the other side.”

It is a fierceness that Dave Dombrowski, the president of the Philadelphia Phillies of baseball operations, knows well. He was the general manager in Detroit when Scherzer was with the Tigers more than ten years ago.

“He always wants to get better,” Dombrowski said on an MLB media day availability. “He is the ultimate. That’s what you want in a pitcher.

“He is the elite, is what he is.”

This report from the Canadian Press was first published on February 16, 2025.

& copy 2025 The Canadian Press