Max Scherzer says retirement decision will wait until the offseason

Max Scherzer is not ready to answer the retirement question yet — and he is not pretending otherwise.

Per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson, Scherzer said he intends to hold off on any decision about his playing future until the offseason, preferring to see how things unfold before committing to a direction. No timetable was offered, and no announcement is imminent.

What happened

Matheson reported that Scherzer wants to let the offseason arrive before making a call on retirement, framing his own stance in notably open terms. The language — wanting to "see how things unfold" — keeps every door ajar without walking through any of them. It is not a farewell and it is not a recommitment. It is a deliberate pause.

Why it matters

Scherzer has been one of the most decorated starting pitchers of his generation, and any decision he makes carries weight well beyond a single roster spot. For clubs that might consider him as a free-agent target, the uncertainty is meaningful: there is no player to pursue until there is a player who has decided to play. For the broader pitching market, a pitcher of his profile remaining undecided keeps at least one significant variable unresolved heading into the offseason.

The framing also matters. Scherzer did not say he is leaning toward retirement, and he did not say he is eager to return. He said he will wait. That is a meaningful distinction — it suggests the decision is genuinely open rather than a formality being dressed up in diplomatic language.

What we don't know yet

There is no reported timeline for when Scherzer expects to reach a conclusion. There is no indication of which factors will weigh most heavily in the decision, no club context attached to the report, and no suggestion of whether any conversations with teams have taken place. Matheson's report captures his stated posture, not a resolution.

What to watch

The offseason is when this story moves. If Scherzer decides to continue pitching, the free-agent market for starting pitching will have a notable name in play. If he steps away, the conversation shifts to what his absence means for clubs that might have factored him into their planning. Either way, the answer is not coming before the season ends — per Scherzer himself, that is the point.