Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer was left off the Toronto Blue Jays' roster for their AL Division Series against the New York Yankees along with injured shortstop Bo Bichette and right-hander Chris Bassitt.
Scherzer was 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his last six starts, including a Sept. 7 loss to the Yankees as New York took advantage of the 41-year-old right-hander tipping pitches with his changeup.
An eight-time All-Star, Scherzer was 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts after agreeing to a $15.5 million, one-year contract. He didn't pitch between March 29 and June 25 because of right thumb inflammation.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said it was tough to break the news to Scherzer and Bassitt.
“The conversations were hard, but they definitely understood,” Schneider said. “They’re going to do everything they need to do to stay ready for the next round. We’re past the point of hurt feelings.”
Scherzer has a 221-117 record with a 3.22 ERA, winning World Series titles with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023. Scherzer is 7-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 30 postseason games.
Schneider didn't address Scherzer's pitch-tipping issue but said the Yankees weren't a good matchup for the veteran righty.
“Just the way that they’re constructed, the way that we are planning to go after them with starters and relievers, there wasn’t a great lane for him against this team, which sounds kind of weird being that it’s Max Scherzer.
“Probably would have been a different outcome if it was Boston, to be honest with you," Schneider said.
Bichette, second in the major leagues to the Yankees' Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average, hasn’t played since Sept. 6, when he sprained his left knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells. Bassitt, who was 11-9 and led the Blue Jays in wins, hasn't pitched since Sept. 18 because of lower back inflammation.
Schneider said Bichette still hasn't been able to test himself by running or hitting against regular pitching.
“He’s continuing to make progress,” Schneider said. "He’s going to continue to do everything he can to get ready if we do advance."
Blue Jays outfielder George Springer said he felt bad for Bichette having to miss out.
“Without Bo we probably wouldn’t be in this position,” Springer said. “To know that he’s hurting on the inside, he wants to play just as bad as everybody here wants him to play, is tough.”
Toronto included 13 pitchers but only Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage, a 22-year-old right-hander who debuted Sept. 15, finished the season in the rotation. Toronto chose four left-handers against lefty-heavy New York: Justin Bruihl, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer and Brendon Little.
New York added right-hander Luis Gil, who was set to start Saturday's opener and dropped right-handed relief Mark Leiter Jr., who was active for the Wild Card Series against Boston but didn't pitch.
The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers added three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and left-hander Anthony Banda to the roster for their NL Division Series against Philadelphia while dropping right-hander Edgardo Henriquez.
Kershaw, a 37-year-old, is slated to pitch in relief. The 11-time All-Star says he will retire after the postseason.
Infielder Otto Kemp and outfielder Weston Wilson were on the Phillies' roster and right-handers Jordan Romano and Lou Trivino were left off.
Right-hander Ben Brown was added to the Chicago Cubs' roster against the Milwaukee Brewers and left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers was dropped. Rogers pitched a hitless inning in the Wild Card Series against San Diego.
Milwaukee included hard-throwing rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski and left-hander Robert Gasser while leaving off first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
The Seattle Mariners will be without ace right-hander Bryan Woo for their AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. Woo, 25, has missed the last two weeks with pectoral inflammation. He was a first-time All-Star this season, going 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts across 186 ⅔ innings.
Manager Dan Wilson is optimistic that Woo will be available for the AL Championship Series if it comes to that.
“He’s continuing to progress as we had hoped, and we talked about that up until this point it’s gone pretty smoothly. No setbacks,” Wilson said. “I think as long as that continues, I think we’ll probably be in good shape at some point in the ALCS."
Rookie Ben Williamson — who hasn’t appeared in a game for Seattle since being demoted to Triple-A Tacoma in late July — was added to the Mariners’ 26-man playoff roster. Fellow rookie Harry Ford also made the roster, giving the Mariners three catchers.
The Tigers kept right-handed reliever Paul Sewald and outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy off the roster in favor of infielder Colt Keith and right-hander Brenan Hanifee. Sewald was not used in the AL Wild Card round.
Hanifee appeared in 54 games and compiled a 3.00 ERA across 60 innings. Keith finished the year on the 10-day injured list with right rib cage inflammation, but hit .256 with 13 home runs and 45 RBIs when healthy in 2025.
“We put him through a workout yesterday, he hit live off a couple pitchers, and once he was deemed healthy, it was a pretty easy decision," said manager A.J. Hinch. “We wanted his bat in the lineup. We’ll be somewhat conservative with the defense, just all the different plays and angles and stress that we can put on him.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) reacts as he works against the Boston Red Sox during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
