Blue Jays' Scherzer delays retirement decision until off-season

Max Scherzer wasn't ready to call it quits just yet.

Scherzer will start on short rest for the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds in a scheduling decision that appeared to give the surefire Hall of Famer a proper sendoff in Toronto's final game of the season.

But the 42-year-old told media Saturday that he will wait until the off-season to decide if he'll retire or play another season of Major League Baseball.

"I've gone through ups and downs through the season. I get it, but I've gotten to this point where I'm pretty healthy," said Scherzer, sitting in the Blue Jays' dugout at Rogers Centre. "I've talked to everybody in my inner circle, and we all kind of feel the same way.

"We don't need to make a decision today. Get to the off-season and just see how things unfold."

Scherzer noted that he's never had a serious injury over his Hall of Fame-calibre career, just nagging hurts and pains as he's gotten older.

He was on Toronto's 15-day injured list from April 27 to June 10 with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. After one start, he went back on the 15-day IL on June 14 with back spasms.

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Now that Scherzer's healthy again and says he's in mid-season form, he feels like he could pitch another season. But there are other potential issues, including the likely labour disruption of either a lockout or strike when the collective agreement between MLB and the players' union expires this winter.

"We've also got a lot of uncertainty next year with all the labour issues, so you just don't know how the season's going to happen or unfold, or what opportunity is going to be in front of me," said Scherzer, who