September 26th: Manager John Schneider provided reporters, including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, with an update on Berríos today. The righty has no structural damage but will get a second opinion with Dr. Keith Meister just to be sure.
September 25th: The Blue Jays are going to place right-hander José Berríos on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation. Manager John Schneider relayed the news to reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. It’s something he has been “dealing with for a while,” per Schneider, and is getting an MRI. Righty Paxton Schultz is on his way to join the club and will be recalled in a corresponding move.
Berríos, 31, has been a fairly steady presence in the Toronto rotation this year. He has given the club 166 innings with a 4.17 earned run average. However, he has been worse of late. He had a 3.75 ERA in the first half but a 5.15 ERA in the second. That recently got him bumped to the Toronto bullpen.
It’s possible this elbow issue has been impacting his results, as Schneider alluded to. He was averaging in the 93-95 mile per hour range with his fastball earlier in the season but has been more in the 91-93 mph band lately. Durability has been a hallmark of the righty’s career. This is actually his first ever trip to the major league IL.
Given his recent downturn in results and move to the bullpen, he had become less important to Toronto’s pitching staff. Once the playoffs arrive, all teams will rely more on their top arms, making the length a bit less important. The Jays have already clinched a spot but are still trying to lock down the division and a first-round bye or home-field advantage in the Wild Card round.
Still, it’s the latest in a series of recent cuts to Toronto’s depth. Chris Bassitt also went on the IL recently, in his case due to a back injury. That leaves the Jays with a rotation mix consisting of Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer and Trey Yesavage. Gausman and Bieber give the Jays a strong one-two punch for the playoffs but Scherzer has been awful of late, with 25 earned runs allowed in his past 25 innings. Yesavage was just promoted and has just two major league starts under his belt. Eric Lauer had a good run in the rotation earlier this year but was moved to the bullpen after Bieber got up to speed. All of Lauer’s appearances in the past three weeks have been less than two innings.
That’s a less than ideal situation for the club in the short term. If this ends up being a long-term injury, that would also be notable for the Blue Jays. They are about to lose Bassitt and Scherzer to free agency. Bieber has a $16MM player option but will surely go for the $4MM buyout if he finishes the year healthy.
Though Berríos has been limping through the second half, the Jays were surely planning on installing him back into the rotation next year alongside Gausman, Yesavage and perhaps Lauer. The Jays were presumably already planning to pursue starting pitching this winter and that desire should only increase if Berríos ends up slated to miss part of next season.
Down the line, that could also impact him personally. Berríos can opt out of his deal after 2026. He is slated to make $24MM in both 2027 and 2028, so he would be deciding to walk away from two years and $48MM. That’s not a ton of money for a starting pitcher these days. The Padres just gave Nick Pivetta $55MM last winter. Michael Wacha got $51MM from the Royals the prior offseason. Jon Gray got $56MM from the Rangers a few years back.
There’s a path for Berríos to have a strong season in 2026 and make the opt-out a real consideration. Though a poor season, or a lengthy injury absence, would naturally reduce the chances of that being a factor.
For now, the Jays will trudge through the final days of the season. Scherzer started last night. Today is going to be a bullpen game with Louis Varland technically the starter. Schultz may end up covering multiple innings of relief. Bieber and Yesavage are scheduled to take the ball in the two subsequent contests. Gausman could start the final game if it’s important or if they have secured a bye, though the Jays could also hold him for the first game of the Wild Card round, if necessary. Bassitt and Berríos could re-enter the equation later in October if they get healthy as the Jays stay alive.
Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images
Didn’t he already have a TJ surgery? Seems like I remember that happening but I’m old and my memory ain’t the best. LOL
He’s never had it. In fact, Berrios has had 7 straight seasons with 30+ starts (excluding 2020 when he was also healthy).
He was crying about his elbow and not the catcher’s inability to switch to the third sign. Huh. Fair
Are players on the IL on 9/28 play in the playoffs, or do they need to serve the entire 14 days, for example?
I don’t think Playoffs matter. It’s 15 Days from whenever he’s on it. Minus whenever they reverted it to depending on the last time he actually played.
Just gotta serve the length.
At least based on this other MLBTR article for Chris Bassitt: mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/blue-jays-place-chris-b…
I was doing some research on the Jays and their potential playoff rotation and had that article handy.
Make sense why Berrios has shuffled in the second half including his relief outing last night. Sucks for him with the timing. Good on the Jays for shutting him down as he’s under contract for three more seasons.
*scuffled
Congrats on your Yankees clinching! My White Sox helped a little lol
Erm. Can they reverse that paperwork on Manoah and maybe have him stick around instead ?
I think Manoah needs a change of scenery. I think that bridge has been burned by both sides.
Is Yariel Rodgeiquez an option for high leverage relief innings in the postseason? How about as a bulk starter in a bullpen game?? Schneider needs to borrow AJ Hinch’s “Idiot’s Guide to Pitching Chaos”
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
If you’re planning a BP game for the playoffs you already have your hand on the white flag stuck in your back pocket.
Like the Dodgers last year?
Some leverage as in seventh inning type work. But he’s not a fireman type who you are going to bring in to strand runners as the ball is in play with him. But with a clean inning, he can do some good work. He doesn’t give up a lot of hard contact like the some of the others.
I don’t know about bulk. He was a starter last year, but his stuff seemed to fade as the season went on.
So much for the playoff relief role for Berrios.
He’s got a bad elbow he’s not opting out of anything
Ahh not good. Why do I get an uneasy feeling on how the rest of the season will unfold.
Tied with the Yanks at the moment and suddenly another wild card spot looking quite possible. Sure they would host it again but hopefully it’s not another quick exit like the last 2 wildcard series.