Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos made his spring debut today, throwing 2 2/3 innings against the Mets. That’s a notable step for the righty since his health became an issue late last year. He told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, that he already had doubts about his health at this time a year ago and that those doubts stayed in his mind through the season.
“I threw that way last year all year long,” he said. “I’ve never been in that situation before. I just was dealing with that. Everything was new for me. I never saw myself (not pitching) so that’s why I kept trying to fight and compete with my team.”
Berríos tossed 166 innings last year, so it certainly wasn’t a lost season, but it was relatively injury-marred by his own high standards. He made 32 starts in every full season from 2018 to 2024, plus 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season. He finished 2025 on the injured list due to elbow inflammation, though he now says it was actually his biceps tendon which had the inflammation, which was impacting his elbow.
Though he didn’t hit the IL until late in the year, it’s possible his arm was gradually wearing down as the season went along, as he had a 3.75 earned run average in the first half and a 5.15 ERA in the second. His four-seamer and sinker averaged over 94 miles per hour in his first start of the year but were below 92 mph by the end of August. He was in the 91-92 mph range today, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, though Zwelling added that the cold conditions seemed to be hampering many pitchers today.
As Berríos struggled last year, he was bumped out of the rotation, shortly before hitting the IL. The Jays are likely going to start the season with Shane Bieber on the IL, so Berríos is projected to once again have a rotation spot behind Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce.
A healthy and productive season from Berríos would be great for the Jays and could also impact his earning power. At the end of the year, he can opt out of his deal, walking away from two years and $48MM. He can also increase that guarantee depending on how many innings he pitches in 2026.
Sticking with the rotation, left-hander Eric Lauer is currently on the outside looking in. He projects to be the #6 guy right now, which would mean starting the season in the bullpen as the long man, though an injury could quickly open a rotation spot for him. He spent much of 2025 in that spot, switching between starting and relieving. He finished the year with a 3.18 ERA in 104 2/3 innings over 15 starts and 13 relief appearances. He also made five postseason appearances with a 3.18 ERA.
The southpaw tells Mitch Bannon of The Athletic that he would prefer to have a full-time starting job, as most pitchers would. Bannon floats the possibility of Lauer ending up traded, though the Jays want him around and stretched out since injuries will inevitably cut into their depth.
That’s a natural preference for the Jays to have since their optionable depth is far more questionable. Bowden Francis is going to miss the year due to Tommy John surgery. Jake Bloss is still recovering from last year’s elbow surgery. Ricky Tiedemann didn’t pitch last year due to his surgery. Adam Macko hasn’t yet cracked the majors and Lazaro Estrada has just two big league games. Yariel Rodríguez is in camp but isn’t currently on the roster.
Keeping Lauer around decreases the odds of the Jays needing to turn to that depth pile, but on the other hand, Lauer could still get squeezed out. Bieber may not miss much time and the Jays have kept in touch with free agent Max Scherzer. If Scherzer is re-signed and Bieber’s arm holds up, Lauer could quickly move from sixth on the chart to eighth. At that point, it’s possible the Jays prefer to trade him for something else, as opposed to holding him in a spot where he’s buried.
Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images
I expect a big hangover season for TOR. Could see them missing the playoffs completely. I could also see me settling down with Ilayana Douglas.
I think this Blue Jays team was left hungry. I myself am reminded of the 2014 Royals, where they were right back in the World Series in 2015 and beats the Mets in five games. We shall see which of us is correct lol
Ya I’m a homer sure but this team at this point despite losing Bo, Bassitt and mad max a better team this year on paper than last year at this time at least
W
Both the Sanchez move and the Okamoto move haven’t made much sense to me for the Jays. They essentially replaced Bichette with Okamoto who is unproven and will likely need some time to adjust to MLB pitching. The Santander injury is screwing up some of their plans as they now have to play Barger in the OF and start Okamoto at 3B fulltime, which sounds like was not his preference. They’re also banking on Springer having another big year.
Their rotation is great but I think their lineup has more question marks than they were anticipating a month ago.
Bo at his best is a top 10 bat with a top 5 salary…. At his worst he’s a shell of him self at the plate and often, very often, injured.
He blames the turf in Toronto…. He played in the dirt infield.
I love him at his best, and have his jersey in the closest (92 jays custom made with Alina’s hall
Of fame stitching), but I think Okomoto will have a better 4 years then Bo…..
the media is already riding his defence, and we have watched him for years not stand up to criticism well…he has been known to pout. You throw in the “of course they suck, their the Mets” aspect and I seriously think “Shatkins” come out looking like geniuses when the dust settles on this….and it’s not like they passed on Bo…..they never even (from what’s reported) talked bringing him back. If there is one thing the jays have in spades it’s analytics.
Agreed, that Bichette contract probably won’t age well.
Well when you group it all together it can come off as confusing so let’s break it down. Gimenez signing was the writing on the wall, but regardless, the signing of Okamoto was just a way to protect Barger in case of regression. It naturally shifts our INF right which would cover the field when Bo leaves. The Santander, although considered a discount, is an atrocious signing. We’ve leveraged four decent year of a player showing life for a player that is stat darling. If we can unlock that swing, the potential is huge. To further my comments on Barger regression, we would need Sanchez to protect Vladdys bat. I’d argue the rotation has more question marks than a month ago (when all the IL news was released). Hope this helps.
Cheers.
This all makes sense and a team’s offseason can look confusing at the end without knowing the progression that got them there (I don’t know the Pirates would have signed Soto if they knew they were getting Montgomery in the Lowe trade, for instance).
I will say, though, that the signing of Okamoto is a good investment in the future but could definitely affect their ability to compete this year, particularly given how competitive the AL East is. If they got a more certain replacement for Bo this year, I wouldn’t have the same concern. I think Okamoto will be a great addition but I do worry about his impact this year on the lineup. I’ll probably be wrong though.
Yes my hope is he can produce decent defense and add some pop to the lineup. His arm looks good, he seems mobile, and has some thump to his bat. Might be a sneaky signing tbh. Signing him was the final sign that Bo was leaving. The AL BEast is a crazy division and it’s anyone’s to have really.
Maybe 20 years ago like your favorite movie
What
I don’t disagree on the Jays potentially missing the playoffs. They’ll have a winning season, but they did go on an unbelievable run in the last two months of the season that may be hard to replicate. 88-74 while just missing the playoffs is very possible.
That entire division is just too close to call. I could see reasonable paths for all 5 teams to either win the division or miss out completely.
You really see that Rays beating 3 powerhouses in the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays and another good team in the Orioles? As well as other teams outside the division like the Astros, Guardians, Rangers, A’s, Royals? Okay, I could see the Rays beating all the teams except the Astros and maybe the Guards and Rangers. 2023 was a fluke for Arlington.
Yeah man, it’s baseball. Crazy shiz happens
94-68.
Hey who told you my jeans size?
Literally any team except the Dodgers could miss the playoffs without shocking me. It’s a new year. Doesn’t make it a hangover if you don’t happen to repeat your best season in more than 30 years.
The Blue Jays need Berrios to be good. And hopefully Jake Bloss can be a contributer for the Jays!
Is Lauer not better than Berrios and Scherzer at this point?
Who is Bond compared with Kronsteen?
Better than Scherzer for sure. Berrios? Depends on which Jose we get this year.
Lauer is better than Scherzer for sure, but he’s more flexible and more proven useful in the bullpen, so to maintain depth he has to be the swingman. Plus Max doesn’t sign if you tell him he’s going to the bullpen.
Berrios pitching through pain last year wasn’t very good, but historical healthy Berrios is better than Lauer.
I’m not sure that’s true. Berrios has never ended the season with an era as low as Lauer did last year
If Berrios is released this yr, are Jays on the hook for his 27/28 player options?
@pete toms
Yep. All 50M.
That rotation does not scream World Series Champs.
Yes-savage (lol), Bieber, Gausman, Cease (going to have a HUGE year, bank it), heading into a playoff series and Laurer, Berrios (watch out- he claims to have pitched to a 4 era last year injured, and is now healthy), ponce, multiple prospects ready to step up, and the likely hood of Scherzer……plus the means to add
Who, outside of the dodgers is F’n close?
Mariners? Ifs and buts
Yankees? Did you watch them last year, the jays destroyed their starters and Vladdy has owned Cole for years….who will have to prove it on is return
Boston, Detroit……come on
The rays are the only scary staff in the al that’s scary as they somehow always figure out how to turn trash into treasures
How are the Rays a scary staff?
@Astros71
They’ll be dressing up as Pennywise, Freddy, and Velociraptors?
Comparing All Playoff Team Rotations:
Yankees: Max Fried, Cam Schittler, Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, and Luis Gil. Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole will be back soon which makes a dangerous rotation.
Red Sox: Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Brayan Bello, Johan Ovideo. Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Patrick Sandoval are also in the mix. Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck underwent surgery.
Blue Jays: Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausmen, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and Jose Berrios. Eric Lauer is also in the mix, Jake Bloss and Shane Bieber will return at some point.
Orioles: Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, and Zach Eflin. A few others are in the mix like Dean Kreamer, Cade Povich, etc.
Mariners: Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, and Bryce Miller. Formidable but falls off after the 5. Other options like Dane Dunning in the wings but not exactly your playoff starter.
Astros: Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier, Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti, and Lance McCullers Jr. in six man. Lots of depth, I doubt McCullers Jr. makes it out of April. Ryan Weiss is my next man up. Hopefully Javier can rebound and Imai can stick.
Tigers: Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Casey Mize, Justin Verlander, and Jack Flarety. Troy Melton and Drew Anderson is there too, one of the better rotations in MLB.
Those are my six to make the playoffs and my take on their rotations.
Did you see the jays own the Yankees starters in the divisional series?
They actually did all year as well
And Vladdy……owns Cole historically.
IMO the Yankees entire roster is ripe for regression, except for Chisholm , whom they tried to trade unsuccessfully this off season.
No, I didn’t.
How is Lauer not a lock in the rotation with Ponce and Berrios battling for a spot?
You’re kidding, right? Their rotation is better than last year and they almost won the World Series last year.