The San Francisco Giants may have finished the 2025 season with one of the top-ten pitching staff ERAs in Major League Baseball, but that might not stop them from pursuing Max Scherzer this offseason.

As the MLB Winter Meetings get underway this weekend in Orlando, ESPN’s Buster Olney shared there is a ‘presumption’ that the three-time Cy Young Award winner could join the Giants, pairing him with recently-hired manager Tony Vitello, who coached Scherzer during his college days at Missouri.

Scherzer, 41, just put the finishing touches on his 18th big-league season with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he started Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander looked strong over 4.1 innings, allowing just one run while striking out three before exiting the game with a 3-1 lead.

Toronto went on to lose in extra innings as the Dodgers claimed a second-straight title.

Max Scherzer, Wicked 86mph Changeup. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/SRA8GzHjK0

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 2, 2025

Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, future Hall of Famers, will find landing spots, but they are on the downslopes of their remarkable careers; they can wait, and there is a presumption that Scherzer could pitch for his good friend, new San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello.

ESPN’s Buster Olney on Max Scherzer | December 5, 2025

More on Free Agent pitcher Max Scherzer

Over three postseason starts this fall, Max Scherzer pitched to the tune of a 1-0 record and 3.77 ERA over three starts (one in the ALCS, two in the World Series).

The eight-time All-Star struggled in 2025, going 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA and striking out just 82 batters over 85 innings (17 starts).

Max Scherzer struggled with giving up the longball in 2025, posting a career-worst 5.3% HR rate–but playing at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park could play in his favor if he signs with the Giants.

Similar to Scherzer, veteran pitcher Justin Verlander inked a deal with San Francisco last offseason after posting the worst HR rate of his career during the 2024 season with Houston. Verlander reduced his HR rate from 3.8 to 2.4 in 2025 while also reducing his ERA from 5.48 to 3.85 over 29 starts in orange and black.

Signing Max Scherzer won’t catapult the Giants into becoming World Series favorites, but it’s a low-risk, high-reward move that could bolster a starting rotation that already includes All-Stars Logan Webb and Robbie Ray at the top.

Expect plenty of signings to take place over the next week as the MLB Winter Meetings (December 7-11) take place in Orlando, Florida.

More San Francisco Giants content from Sactown Sports

Veteran manager Ron Washington is finalizing a deal to join the San Francisco Giants as their infield coach, USA Today reported Thursday.

Washington, 73, was the skipper for the Los Angeles Angels last season before stepping away on June 20 because of health issues. Interim manager Ray Montgomery finished out the year, but neither was retained at the end of the season.

Including a 36-38 mark last season, Washington’s career record is 763-748 (.505) with the Texas Rangers (2007-14) and the Angels. He guided Texas to the first two pennants in franchise history in 2010 and 2011.

Washington, an infielder, played parts of 10 seasons in the majors with four teams (1977, 1981-89).

He previously served as an infield coach with the then-Oakland Athletics (1996-2006, 2015-16) and the Atlanta Braves (2017-23).

Report: Ron Washington joining Giants’ coaching staff

Upcoming San Francisco Giants & MLB Offseason Schedule

MLB Free Agency begins the day after the World Series concludes
December 7-11th – MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida
Early-January – MLB Arbitration Negotiations
Mid-February – Pitchers & Catchers report for Spring Training

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