Max Scherzer Returns From Injury on His 42nd Birthday, Faces His Old Team

Max Scherzer will turn 42 on July 27. And on that same day, he’ll step back onto a mound he knows better than almost any other in baseball.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed Scherzer will make his return from the injured list against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. It’s a homecoming of sorts. Scherzer spent six and a half seasons in D.C., won a Cy Young there, and was the ace of the 2019 World Series champion team. The crowd in the nation’s capital should give him a warm welcome, even if he’s wearing a Blue Jays uniform now.

The timing is poetic. But the circumstances are a little less tidy.

A season of setbacks

Scherzer has started only six games in 2026. His ERA is an ugly 10.23. The Blue Jays are the reigning World Series runners-up, but they’ve been floundering, and Scherzer’s struggles have been part of the problem. Then came the back spasms that put him on the shelf for over a month.

This year has been brutal on his body. He opened the season in the rotation and made five starts before a forearm injury sidelined him at the end of April. That kept him out until mid-June. He made one start against the Phillies, then landed on the IL again with the back issue.

The recovery hasn’t been smooth. Scherzer needed multiple cortisone shots in his thumb along the way. At 42, every injury takes longer to heal. Every setback feels heavier. Nobody knows how much he has left, not even him.

Returning to familiar ground

The one thing working in his favor is the venue. Nationals Park is comfortable territory. He was dominant there for years. The fans remember what he did for that franchise. It’s not a bad place to try and find a rhythm again.

But this isn’t a feel-good story with a guaranteed happy ending. Scherzer is a future Hall of Famer who looks like he’s running on fumes. He’s been a warrior for two decades, but the body doesn’t cooperate forever. The Blue Jays need him to be something close to effective if they want to make a push. The clock is ticking.

For now, he gets one more start. On his birthday. Against his old team. That’s the story — not a tidy resolution, just the next chapter.