Max Scherzer sat down in the visiting dugout at Fenway Park Friday afternoon, still in his road grays, and made clear his arm feels ready even if his season hasn't gone the way anyone wanted.
He'd just wrapped a pre-game bullpen session, building on a Triple-A rehab start where he struck out seven over five scoreless innings.
"I'm in a good spot throwing the ball," Scherzer said. "The ball's coming out of my hand the way it needs to. So I'm looking to pitch here, in the big leagues."
The 41-year-old last pitched in the majors on June 10, but cortisone injections in his thumb have helped him feel physically ready again.
"I can feel it coming out of my hand, and that feels right," he said. "I know I can pitch. I know I can still go out there and compete."
He threw 56 pitches for Buffalo on Wednesday, setting up roughly 70 next time out with a standard progression, and Toronto hasn't ruled out using him against his longtime team, the Washington Nationals.
"We could," John Schneider said. "Not trying to force Max back before he's ready, but he felt good after the Triple-A start. Hopefully he feels good tomorrow. We'll see."
Why Scherzer won't touch questions about his own future
Having thrown just 22 big league innings this season, Scherzer is motivated to get back, though he refuses to dwell on the time already lost.
"It's frustrating for sure," he said. "But I've been so frustrated that it's pointless to keep harping on it, you know? For me, it's just stay positive, get back out there, have another shot, go out there and compete."
Toronto arrived at Fenway nine games under .500 amid real questions about how this front office approaches the deadline, and Scherzer holds a no-trade clause that puts any decision squarely in his own hands.
Asked directly about his future, he smiled and shook his head.
"I'm just not going to answer your question," Scherzer said. "Our job is to come here, show up and win the ballgame. If the front office makes a decision on our season and there's a conversation we have then I'll gladly answer those questions."
It's a bit like a veteran employee refusing to speculate about company restructuring, focused only on the work directly in front of him.
"Right now it's no different," Scherzer said. "If you don't win at this level, you're gone. That's just the reality. We live it."
Does Scherzer's refusal to engage with deadline speculation reflect genuine focus, or is he simply protecting himself from a conversation he doesn't yet have the answers to?
Do you want to see Max Scherzer pitch for the Blue Jays again this season?
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