Max Scherzer's latest chapter in his Hall of Fame career will unfold in Canada.

Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who turns 41 in July, has agreed to a one-year, $15.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, his fifth team in the past five seasons. MLB Network was first to report Scherzer was joining the Blue Jays.

Scherzer won his second World Series title in 2023 after a trade sent him from the New York Mets to the Texas Rangers, but he needed back surgery after that year and was limited to nine starts in 2024. Even when healthy, he's not the lockdown pitcher who struck out between 231 and 300 batters in eight full seasons spanning 2012 to 2021.

And he likely won't approach the form that earned him a 2013 Cy Young Award for the Detroit Tigers and two more with the Washington Nationals in 2016 and 2017.

Yet even a diminshed Scherzer is still effective; he posted a 3.95 ERA in his nine starts last year, and a 3.02 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 42 starts with the Mets in 2022-23. And he buffs out a Toronto pitching staff suddenly boasting enviable depth.

He'll slot in somewhere behind right-handers Kevin Gausman and Jose Berríos and be reunited with former Mets teammate Chris Bassitt. Promising youngster Bowden Francis, who finished the 2024 season strong, will likely round out the rotation, enabling Yariel Rodriguez to again take on a swing role.

And while right-hander Jeff Hoffman, signed to a three-year, $33 million contract earlier this month, had designs on possibly starting, Scherzer's addition likely tickets the former Phillie to the closer's role.

Scherzer remains on a similar late-career path as former Tigers teammate Justin Verlander, who signed a similar $43.3 million annual deal with the Mets after Scherzer and this year joined the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $15 million deal.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Max Scherzer Blue Jays contract for 3-time Cy Young winner