Blue Jays Acquire Connor Seabold
The Blue Jays announced that they have acquired right-hander Connor Seabold from the Tigers. Detroit, who designated Seabold for assignment a few days ago, gets minor league lefty Juanmi Vasquez in return. Seabold is out of options and will need a spot on the active roster once he joins the team. The Jays opened a 40-man spot by moving José Berríos to the 60-day injured list. Berrios required Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.
Seabold, 30, began the season with the Jays on a minor league deal. He came into the year with a career track record of being a swingman, without much success to his name, sporting a 7.79 earned run average in 119 innings.
Back in March, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet profiled Seabold, noting that the Jays had planned on using Seabold as a multi-inning depth option until he showed some increased velocity at the start of camp. He had averaged around 92 miles per hour in his big league career but was suddenly hitting 96 and averaging 94.1 mph this year. He also changed up his breaking pitches with some encouraging developments.
The Jays kept him mostly in a single-inning relief role in spring. He tossed 6 2/3 innings over six Grapefruit League appearances. Allowing five earned runs gave him an unsightly 6.75 ERA but he struck out 13 of the 33 batters he faced, a huge 39.4% clip.
Despite the extra velocity and strikeouts, the Jays couldn’t find a roster spot for him. Seabold triggered an opt-out in his deal and then quickly landed with the Tigers. He gave them 15 2/3 innings over 11 appearances with a 3.45 ERA. His fastball averaged 93.5 mph, a slight drop from spring training but an increase over his previous big league work. Though the ERA was decent, he only struck out 20.3% of batters faced. He got bumped off the roster when Troy Melton came off the 60-day IL.
For the Jays, they didn’t have a spot for Seabold in March but there’s a lot more breathing room on the roster now. Since the season started, they have lost Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Lazaro Estrada, Max Scherzer, Joe Mantiply and Tommy Nance to the injured list.
It’s unclear whether the Jays plan to use Seabold as a multi-inning option or as more of a traditional reliever. They could use help in both areas. Thanks to the rotation injuries, they currently only have three true starters in Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin. They’ve been doing a bullpen game every five days with Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles taking on bulk innings. With Cease recently hitting the IL, there’s another hole to fill.
Seabold could perhaps get stretched out but the relief corps also needs help. Thanks to those bullpen games, and the injuries to Nance and Mantiply, the current group has been heavily used. Someone will have to be bumped off when Seabold is added. Chase Lee and Adam Macko have options and could be candidates. Yariel Rodríguez and Austin Voth aren’t optionable but could end up designated for assignment.
More moves are probably coming for the Toronto pitching staff. They have Shane Bieber rehabbing, so he could be in the mix in the next few weeks. Maybe Cease or Scherzer can get healthy in the near future. Perhaps they will call up someone like Chad Dallas for a spot start or two. For now, Seabold will hopefully be useful in bridging the gap.
To get Seabold, the Jays are giving up a bit of long-term depth, though Vasquez isn’t really a top prospect. He’s 22 years old and hasn’t climbed higher than the High-A level. He can get strikeouts but control is an issue. He has 33 High-A innings under his belt between last year and this year with a 6.00 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate but a 15% walk rate. The Tigers will hope he harnesses his stuff a bit better going forward and they have some time to help him out. He won’t be Rule 5 eligible until after the 2027 season.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Colt Emerson Debuts, Blue Jays’ Rotation Issues, And What To Make Of The Mets And Astros
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Mariners calling up Colt Emerson (3:40)
- The Blue Jays losing José Berríos to surgery and trading Eric Lauer (10:50)
- The Dodgers losing Blake Snell to surgery (17:05)
- The Mets losing Francisco Alvarez to surgery and Clay Holmes to a fibula fracture (21:00)
- The Astros losing Jose Altuve to an oblique strain (31:35)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Which teams have been the biggest positive surprises so far this season? (43:00)
- With the Dodgers having a lot of outfield prospects and trending towards a surplus, do they put together a trade or hold and develop them? (54:10)
Check out our past episodes!
- Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes – listen here
- Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
José Berríos Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos has had a full Tommy John surgery, per manager John Schneider, as relayed by Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. He will miss the entire 2026 season and a good chunk of 2027 as well. He is on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the Jays need a 40-man roster spot.
It has been a strange injury odyssey for Berríos, who was the most durable pitcher in the league until late last year. From 2018 through 2024, he made 32 starts in each full season, plus 12 in the shortened 2020 campaign. In 2025, he made 31 appearances but landed on the IL late in the year due to right elbow inflammation, his first time going on the IL as a big leaguer.
Berríos missed Toronto’s playoff run last year but appeared to be healthy going into 2026, making three spring training starts. He was then going to join the Puerto Rico team in the World Baseball Classic. A routine physical for that tournament showed some more elbow inflammation, even though he wasn’t experiencing any pain or symptoms. Things got stranger still when further testing revealed a stress fracture.
Despite the ominous diagnosis, Berríos began throwing again not long after and started a rehab assignment in mid-April. However, his results during those rehab starts were not good and his velocity started dropping. It was reported a few days ago that Berríos would undergo some kind of surgery here on Wednesday, but the details wouldn’t be known until it took place. Elbow surgery is always a big deal but it still seemed possible that a relatively minor procedure to address loose bodies, with a rough timeline of a few months, was a possibility.
But now the worst-case scenario has come to pass. Per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the stress fracture damaged the ulnar collateral ligament, which made this surgery necessary. It’s been an unusual sequence of events, taken all together. It’s unclear exactly how or when this stress fracture occurred, since Berríos wasn’t in pain and it was seemingly only discovered by accident. If there was a risk of the fracture damaging the ligament, it’s unclear why Berríos was allowed to resume throwing or if there were any alternate paths to take.
Perhaps there will be some more clarity on the whole saga in time. Regardless, the result is that Berríos is now slated for a long recovery. A full Tommy John surgery usually requires a pitcher to take 14 months or more to get back on the mound, so Berríos might be looking at a return around the 2027 All-Star break in a best-case scenario from this point forward.
Back in 2021, Berríos and the Jays signed a seven-year extension worth $131MM. That deal allowed him to opt out after 2026, walking away from the final two years, both of which come with salaries of $24MM. Leaving two years and $48MM on the table would have seemed viable at his peak but Berríos wasn’t trending in the right direction. His strikeout rate dipped below 20% in both 2024 and 2025. This injury makes it a lock that he’ll forgo the opt-out and play out the remainder of the contract.
For the 2026 Blue Jays, this only adds to the huge number of rotation issues they have had to deal with. At one point earlier this year, it looked like they were eight starters deep on paper. In addition to Berríos, they had Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer. Berríos, Bieber and Yesavage all started the season on the IL, quickly dropping the Jays from eight to five. Ponce suffered a season-ending knee injury in his first start, prompting the Jays to sign Patrick Corbin. Yesavage eventually came off the IL but Scherzer went the other way.
In addition to the injuries to those big league starters, the bodies have also been piling up in the depth department. Bowden Francis required Tommy John surgery a few months ago. Lazaro Estrada is on the IL with a shoulder impingement. Ricky Tiedemann‘s hasn’t pitched in official game action this year due to his ongoing injury issues. Jake Bloss is still working back from last year’s Tommy John, having just started a rehab assignment this month.
On top of the injuries, Lauer pitched so poorly that he got designated for assignment and then traded to the Dodgers. The Jays have four healthy starters in Gausman, Cease, Yesavage and Corbin but are currently patching together Lauer’s spot with bullpen games led by Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles, who came into the year with fewer than 15 innings in the minors and no appearances above Single-A.
They will now have to proceed knowing there’s no chance of Berríos coming back late in the year to help out. For the time being, they will be hoping that Scherzer, Bieber, Estrada or Bloss get healthy and re-enter the mix. Until that happens, some of their depth options at Triple-A include Josh Fleming, Austin Voth, Chad Dallas and CJ Van Eyk. Fleming has good numbers in Triple-A this year but was lit up by the Dodgers when called up to the majors. Voth has a solid ERA in Triple-A but with a very low strikeout rate. Dallas and Van Eyk both have ERAs under 3.50 this year but they don’t currently have any major league experience nor a spot on the 40-man.
It’s possible the Jays will enhance their efforts to add external arms, though the options aren’t amazing at this time of year. There aren’t really notable free agents and a big trade is hard to pull off as few teams are looking to sell this early.
In the longer term, the Jays will no longer be able to pencil Berríos into their rotation for the start of 2027. Gausman, Bieber and Scherzer are all impending free agents after 2026. The Jays should have Cease and Yesavage in two slots. Ponce will probably get a chance to take a spot, though he’ll be coming off an essentially lost season. Perhaps guys like Bloss, Estrada or others could push into the mix later this year, but there are clear gaps. Even before this news, the Jays were probably going to be looking for pitching in the coming offseason. Subtracting Berríos from the plans should only increase those odds.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Jose Berrios To Undergo Elbow Surgery
Jose Berrios will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a stress fracture in his right elbow, as Blue Jays manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae and other reporters. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the procedure, and it is possible the surgery could be more complicated since “there is some concern about [Berrios’] ligament,” Mae writes. A recovery timeline (or whether or not Berrios will pitch at all in 2026) therefore won’t be known until the surgery is complete, and a further assessment is made for any ligament damage.
Surgery is perhaps the natural endpoint to what has been an injury-marred nine months for a pitcher once known for his durability. Right elbow inflammation sent Berrios to the 15-day injured list at the end of the 2025 season and kept him from participating in the Blue Jays’ postseason run. As he prepared to pitch for Puerto Rico in this spring’s World Baseball Classic, tests revealed more inflammation and then a stress fracture in Berrios’ right elbow.
Toronto placed Berrios on the 15-day IL to begin the season, and he appeared to be on track before more elbow discomfort arose during his minor league rehab assignment. Berrios had an MRI and a previous visit with Dr. Meister last week, and Schneider told reporters yesterday that surgery was now a possibility, as Berrios could be dealing with loose bodies in his elbow area.
It is possible that Berrios’ 2026 season could be over even if he is “only” dealing with loose bodies and the initial stress fracture, given how the recovery timeline for such procedures can vary greatly. A best-case scenario probably has Berrios making his 2026 debut after the All-Star break, though anywhere from mid-July to mid-August is a realistic window.
If ligament damage is found, the question then becomes how much of Berrios’ 2027 season could be in jeopardy. An internal brace procedure would put the right-hander in line to return by May or June of next season. A full Tommy John surgery would require 13-15 months on the shelf, so any sort of setback within that rehab process could threaten Berrios’ ability to return before the 2027 season is out.
Turning first to contractual matters, Berrios has an opt-out clause in his contract that can be triggered this offseason, allowing him to walk away from the final two years and $48MM remaining on his seven-year, $131MM extension. It already didn’t seem likely that Berrios would exercise that opt-out, and the fact that he’ll now miss most or even all of the 2026 campaign means that he’ll remain with the Jays beyond the season.
In the shorter term, Berrios’ continued absence (even for 2-3 more months) is more bad news for a Toronto rotation that has already been drastically thinned. Shane Bieber is throwing to live batters but has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment, and Max Scherzer has started throwing in the first steps of his recovery from forearm tendinitis.
These two veterans are probably a month away at best, but that still puts them ahead of several other Blue Jays pitchers. Cody Ponce‘s season has been ended by a torn ACL, depth starter Bowden Francis‘ season is also over due to a Tommy John surgery, and swingman Lazaro Estrada has missed about a month due to a shoulder impingement. Eric Lauer didn’t suffer a traditional injury but was hampered by a bad case of the flu, and he pitched so poorly that the Jays designated Lauer for assignment.
Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease have been the only stable members of the rotation, and Trey Yesavage only recently returned from a shoulder impingement of his own. Patrick Corbin was signed to a one-year, $1MM contract in early April and he has a respectable 3.93 ERA while covering seven starts and 34 1/3 innings. To find a fifth starter, the Jays may have to look outside the organization for at least another Corbin-esque addition, or dig further into their depth chart to either minor league signings (i.e. Josh Fleming) or pitchers with little to no MLB experience.
Rule 5 Draft pick Spencer Miles has pitched well in a relief role, and the Jays may be leaning towards stretching Miles out as a de facto fifth starter, even if Miles might work behind an opener or be used in a piggyback capacity. Miles is pitching today behind opener Mason Fluharty.
On the bullpen front, Adam Macko is in Detroit today as a member of the Jays’ taxi squad, Schneider told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other media that Macko may be activated depending on the status of other relievers who aren’t 100 percent, so Macko could join the 26-man roster tomorrow as a fresh arm. Macko will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in his first game for Toronto.
Blue Jays Notes: Berríos, Kirk, Barger
Among the many Blue Jays starters currently on the injured list, José Berríos‘ health situation might be the most perplexing at the moment. Berríos suffered a stress fracture in his throwing elbow during intake physicals for the World Baseball Classic, and that injury flared up again during a minor league rehab stint. Although an update was expected yesterday on Berríos’ condition, there was no clear answer on the current severity of the stress fracture.
If anything, the picture is even murkier now. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet relays comments from manager John Schneider, who says that “surgery is on the table” for Berríos. Schneider doesn’t believe there is any ligament damage, but there may be “loose bodies” in Berríos’ elbow in addition to the stress fracture, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. The latter injury comes with a range of outcomes for recovery. The Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in the spring. Schwellenbach is on the 60-day injured list and hasn’t thrown yet, while Waldrep avoided the 60-day IL. In the last month, Tarik Skubal and Edwin Díaz have also undergone surgery for loose bodies, and they’re expected to miss two to three months.
It’s difficult to predict a timeline for Berríos from that range of outcomes. Given his long layoff and the lingering stress fracture, the Jays will understandably proceed with caution. At the moment, that leaves a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, and Patrick Corbin. That obviously won’t hold up long-term, and it’s further complicated by the Jays’ hectic schedule in the next two weeks. The team does not have an off day until June 1st, with 17 games between now and then, including tonight. Schneider has said the club will use a spot starter tomorrow, leaving three additional turns through the rotation that need to be covered by a spot starter or bullpen games.
As hectic as their rotation seems, the Jays’ offense got some positive injury updates today. Alejandro Kirk is progressing in his rehab and has responded well to catching, per Nicholson-Smith. According to MLB.com’s injury report, Kirk will catch injured starter Shane Bieber‘s next bullpen session. That bodes well for the health of Kirk’s left thumb, which fractured on April 3rd on a foul tip and necessitated surgery a few days later. At the time, he was projected for a six-week recovery timeline. It remains to be seen how Kirk will fare against live pitching, but for now, the signs point to him being back within or not too far beyond that time frame.
In Kirk’s absence, Toronto’s offense has been a bottom 10 unit in the Majors. Entering play today, the team ranks 23rd with a 93 wRC+. Kazuma Okamoto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are hitting 15-20% better than average by wRC+. However, Andrés Giménez, Davis Schneider, and George Springer are all hitting at least 11% below average. Meanwhile, Kirk has a 110 career wRC+ and an 11.5% career strikeout rate. His eventual return will add a tough out to the lineup and lengthen the group overall. If the Blue Jays elect to keep Brandon Valenzuela on as Kirk’s backup catcher, that could also benefit the offense by limiting playing time for the weak-hitting Tyler Heineman.
Nicholson-Smith also provides an update on Addison Barger. Schneider feels that Barger is “doing better” and will ideally be hitting and throwing by next week. If all goes well, Barger could be back “pretty soon” after that. This current IL placement is Barger’s second of the year, as he previously missed a month due to an ankle sprain. He played one game before injuring his elbow on May 11th and landing back on the IL.
The Jays may understandably be concerned after that succession of injuries, though it’s perhaps a good sign that Barger can be back pretty soon after hitting and throwing drills. Barger has only had 28 plate appearances this year, but he had a 107 wRC+ in 502 plate appearances last year. His underlying metrics suggest that performance is sustainable. Barger’s average exit velocity and hard-hit rate were in the 86th and 91st percentiles, respectively. Assuming he stays healthy this time, Barger would add depth to Toronto’s lineup, albeit not as impactfully as Kirk.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Latest On Blue Jays’ Rotation
The Blue Jays’ rotation has been slammed by injuries this season, and poor performance from Eric Lauer, whom Toronto recently designated for assignment, has only compounded matters. The only healthy starters for manager John Schneider right now are Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin — the latter of whom was a midseason signing to help patch things over amid the rash of injuries. The Jays will go with a spot starter this Saturday, manager John Schneider said last night (link via the Canadian Press), but the organization is still determining who that’ll be.
Toronto currently has Shane Bieber (elbow inflammation), Cody Ponce (ACL tear) and Bowden Francis (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day IL. José Berríos (stress fracture in elbow), Max Scherzer (forearm tendinitis) and Lazaro Estrada (shoulder impingement) are on the 15-day injured list. Yariel Rodriguez and Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles are long options in the bullpen. There’s no clear help on the horizon in Triple-A — at least not on the 40-man roster. Adam Macko has been working in relief, former top prospect Ricky Tiedemann is still injured (and last pitched in 2024), and Jake Bloss is only just beginning to build back up in Rookie ball after last year’s UCL surgery.
Non-roster depth options include prospects CJ Van Eyk and Chad Dallas, as well as journeymen Austin Voth and Josh Fleming. All four have pitched decently, though Dallas hasn’t gone five innings in any appearance yet and Van Eyk has only done so twice. Dallas is currently listed as the probable starter for tonight’s game in Triple-A Buffalo. Voth and Fleming would either need to stick on the big league roster once added or else be designated for assignment. Both are out of minor league options.
Schneider mentioned Miles, specifically, as one possible option, but that hinges on whether he’s needed in the interim. The skipper also acknowledged that Saturday’s starter could be someone who’s not even in the organization currently. Trades of any real significance are rare this time of year, of course, and the Jays are hopeful of getting some more established arms back from the injured list before too long. They’re unlikely to acquire a prominent name in a trade over the next 48 hours, but a minor swap is possible. Free agency and the waiver wire don’t have much to offer at the moment.
One name the Jays don’t seem likely to get back anytime soon is Berríos. The 31-year-old learned of a stress fracture in his right elbow during an intake physical for the World Baseball Classic. It wasn’t causing him any discomfort at the time, but the Jays played things cautiously and placed him on the IL to begin the season. He made four rehab starts but went for an MRI after a notable velocity dip during the last of those four minor league appearances. That new round of imaging revealed some inflammation but also “changes” to his existing stress fracture.
The Jays have been opaque when it comes to updates on the right-hander in the days since. Last week, they indicated that an update would likely be available Tuesday, following an in-person meeting with Dr. Keith Meister. That update never came. Schneider said yesterday (via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi) that Berríos, the Blue Jays and medical experts were still talking through possible next steps.
“[T]here’s going to be some downtime,” Schneider said. “You just don’t know how long and how it affects everyone else in the rotation, everyone else depth-wise, things like that. So, not ideal.”
Health uncertainty is a new phenomenon for Berríos, who entered the season as the game’s most durable arm. From 2018-25, he led Major League Baseball in both games started (234) and innings pitched (1367 2/3). Berríos started a full slate of 12 games during the shortened 2020 season and, prior to 2026, had started 30 or more games in every 162-game season dating back to 2018. He’s in the fifth season of a seven-year, $131MM contract extension that allows him to opt out and test free agency following the ’26 campaign. Given the injury, it’s hard to imagine Berríos opting out of the remaining $48MM on his contract, though that’s a conversation for down the road. For now, the Jays are doing what they can to get the veteran righty back on the mound as they try to piece the rotation together.
There ought to be an update both on Berríos and the weekend rotation plans before too much longer, but the entire situation seems very much up in the air as things stand.
Blue Jays Notes: Barger, Pinango, Berrios, Scherzer, Bieber, Garcia, Kirk, Lukes
As expected, Addison Barger was activated from the Blue Jays’ 10-day injured list today. The team announced that outfielder Yohendrick Pinango was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.
The 2026 season has essentially been a wash for Barger to date, between his five weeks on the IL and his ice-cold start at the plate. Barger had only one hit and three walks in his first 23 plate appearances, resulting in an ugly .053/.174/.105 slash line. He hasn’t played since April 5, when he hurt both ankles while trying to beat out a grounder to first base. What was initially termed as “bilateral ankle discomfort” was officially designated as a left ankle sprain when Barger was placed on the injured list.
Barger returns looking to get his season on track, and to ideally return to the form that make him a breakout player during the 2025 regular season and especially during Toronto’s postseason run. With Kazuma Okamoto now firmly entrenching himself as the everyday third baseman, Barger will mostly be deployed in right field, though his ability to play third base in a pinch could be useful in late-game situations or if Okamoto is given a rest day or a DH day.
Since Barger is a left-handed hitter who will be handling corner outfield duty, Pinango was a little redundant on the active roster, but manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters that the team was impressed during Pinango’s brief stay in the majors. Pinango hit .423/.444/.462 over his first 27 plate appearances as a big leaguer, and is very likely to get another look in Toronto at some point in 2026.
Schneider provided more injury updates to the media (including The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon) yesterday, with some positive news on some other position players. Alejandro Kirk is throwing and started swinging this week in the latest steps of his recovery from thumb surgery, and Nathan Lukes has started running drills as he recovers from a hamstring strain.
On the pitching front, Shane Bieber will throw a live bullpen session on Tuesday, and Yimi Garcia started a minor league rehab assignment. Both right-handers started the season on the 15-day IL before being moved to the 60-day IL to give the duo more time to build up arm strength. Bieber dealt with forearm fatigue over the offseason while Garcia underwent surgery last September to fix scar tissue in his throwing elbow.
The outlook isn’t as clear for Jose Berrios, who is set to visit Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. An MRI on Berrios’ right elbow revealed inflammation but also “changes to his previous stress fracture.” What exactly this means for Berrios perhaps won’t be known until after his consultation, or if any kind of surgery might be under discussion.
At the very least, it doesn’t look like Berrios will be back on the mound in the near future, so the veteran right-hander’s 2026 debut will continue to be on hold for some time. What began as elbow inflammation and then a stress fracture in his right elbow put Berrios on the 15-day IL to begin the season, though it appears like he didn’t experience much actual discomfort until his most recent Triple-A rehab start.
Max Scherzer is also on the 15-day IL, sidelined by left ankle inflammation and tendinitis in his right forearm. The ankle problem looks to have largely subsided, while the forearm issue is being treated by a cortisone shot, so Scherzer won’t resume throwing for five days. Since his IL stint began on April 25, Scherzer will obviously miss longer than the minimum amount of time, and a loose return timeframe of late May seems possible if the cortisone shot is a fix and Scherzer’s throwing progression goes smoothly.
Blue Jays Notes: Berríos, Scherzer, Bieber, Barger
Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos has been trying to get healthy for a long time now but appears to have hit another setback. Mitch Bannon of The Athletic was among those to relay that the righty went for an MRI Tuesday night. His most recent rehab outing featured decreased velocity followed by increased pain for the veteran.
Berríos hasn’t really been healthy since late last year, due to varying maladies that may or may not be connected. Right elbow inflammation put him on the injured list with just a few days remaining in the 2025 season.
He started this year healthy, or so it seemed, as he was pitching in spring training games early on. In mid-March, he was going to join the Puerto Rico team in the World Baseball Classic and underwent a physical which found some elbow inflammation, apparently in a different spot than last year’s inflammation. It was an unusual situation because he wasn’t feeling any discomfort. Stranger still, he was then diagnosed with a stress fracture in his elbow.
Despite the ominous diagnosis and starting the season on the IL, he began a rehab assignment a few weeks ago, but it hasn’t been going well. He has allowed 17 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings. As mentioned, his velo has been down, with Bannon noting a drop of about 3 mph from his first rehab start to his most recent. And with Berríos experiencing more pain than expected, the signs are generally worrying. The Jays are off tomorrow and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet notes that the Jays will likely have more information to share by Friday.
It doesn’t appear as though Max Scherzer is close to a return either. He hit the IL a little over a week ago due to both tendinitis in his right forearm and inflammation in his left ankle. He had been pitching through the tendinitis for a while but said the addition of the ankle issue was too much to juggle at once. Today, he expressed some frustration with the path forward.
“It’s confusing as heck because I have a clean MRI,” Scherzer said to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. “That’s what has everyone pulling their hair out. The MRI is saying, ‘hey you should be good,’ and I’m like ‘No, the check engine light is on.'” Given that puzzling situation, it’s hard to say what the path forward is.
As for Shane Bieber, who has been on the IL all year due to forearm fatigue, there are some positive signs. Per Bannon, he did a “2-up” bullpen today, which effectively means he threw the equivalent of two innings with a break in between to simulate a game environment. He’ll do another bullpen like that next week and then could progress to live hitters. Presumably, he would be in line for a rehab assignment after that.
The Jays have been trying to get their rotation to a better state of health all year. They started the season with Berríos, Bieber and Trey Yesavage on the IL, leaving them with a rotation of Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, Cody Ponce and Scherzer. Ponce suffered a season-ending knee injury in his first start, prompting the Jays to quickly sign Patrick Corbin. Yesavage came off the IL at the end of April, which was supposed to push Lauer to the bullpen, but then Scherzer hit the IL instead.
Lauer has been struggling this year, with a 6.03 ERA so far. Corbin has been doing better, entering today with a 3.65 ERA, but it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can keep it up. He’s approaching his 37th birthday and has had an ERA above 5.00 in most of his recent seasons. Ideally, the Jays would get some of their veterans healthy to push Lauer and/or Corbin out of the rotation but that may not be imminent.
There’s a bit more positivity coming on the position player side, since Addison Barger seems close to a return. He has already begun a rehab assignment and the plan is for him to rejoin the big league club on Friday, per Bannon. He struggled through the first eight games before a left ankle sprain put him on the IL. He hit 21 home runs for the Jays last year and slashed .243/.301/.454, so they will obviously hope to get him back in good form.
Barger played a lot of third base last year but Kazuma Okamoto‘s signing means he’ll be mostly in the outfield going forward. With Barger, Nathan Lukes and Anthony Santander on the shelf, the Jays have had an outfield mix including Daulton Varsho, Myles Straw, Jesús Sánchez, Yohendrick Pinango and Davis Schneider.
The Jays will have to make room for Barger somehow, which could lead to an interesting decision. They have been playing a lot of matchups with this group, as Varsho, Pinango and Sánchez are lefties while Schneider and Straw are righties. Schneider isn’t hitting well and has options but sending him down for Barger wouldn’t be ideal in the sense that it would tilt the group to four lefties with Straw as the only righty.
Pinango is hitting better than Sánchez but the latter is more experienced and out of options, whereas Pinango’s recent surge has come in just a handful of games and with a .500 BABIP he won’t sustain. Sending down Pinango might be the easiest decision in a sense but it also may be hard to option a hot hand while the club isn’t scoring tons of runs.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
AL East Notes: Volpe, Caballero, Crochet, Gray, Berrios
Sunday is the final day of Anthony Volpe‘s 20-day minor league rehabilitation period, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty) that Volpe will remain at Double-A Somerset for the entirety of the 20-man window, and “then we’ll kind of reevaluate where we are.” Once the rehab period is up, the Yankees must either reinstate Volpe to the active roster or option the shortstop to Triple-A.
As Volpe finishes up his recovery from October shoulder surgery, it can’t be ignored that the Yankees haven’t really missed him at shortstop. Jose Caballero has delivered strong defense at the position, speed (a league-best 12 stolen bases), and a .266/.310/.422 slash line over 116 plate appearances. The offensive numbers translate to an above-average 105 wRC+, which is significantly better than the 85 wRC+ Volpe has posted over 1886 PA in three seasons in the Bronx. While the Yankees didn’t make a bigger addition over the offseason to officially bump Volpe out of the starting shortstop role, Caballero might’ve simply pipped Volpe out of the job, leaving Volpe in something of an uncertain state within the organization.
Some other items from the AL East….
- An MRI on Garrett Crochet‘s left shoulder revealed only inflammation, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters. Crochet won’t start throwing until at least Monday, as the southpaw will work on shoulder-strengthening exercises over the weekend. While Tracy said there’s “no timetable on” when Crochet could be back in Boston’s rotation, it remains possible the left-hander may still miss only the minimum 15 days on the IL, though obviously the team won’t rush their ace until he is fully ready.
- In other Red Sox rotation news, Sonny Gray threw a three-inning live batting practice session on Friday, in what could be the last step before his activation from the 15-day IL. Gray hasn’t pitched since April 20 due to a hamstring strain, but the injury is seemingly minor enough that Gray could be back in Boston’s rotation as early as Wednesday.
- Jose Berrios will make his fourth rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Buffalo, Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling). It is possible this may be Berrios’ final tune-up, as the right-hander tossed 70 pitches in his previous outing on April 28, and felt good after throwing a bullpen session yesterday. A stress fracture in his right elbow has kept Berrios from pitching in the majors this season, and he also dealt with biceps tendon inflammation late in 2025 that kept him from participating in the Jays’ playoff run.
AL East Injury Notes: Yesavage, Springer, Holliday, Uceta
Injuries come frequently in April, but the AL East seems particularly snake-bitten to begin the season. The Blue Jays have had several key players go down since the start of Spring Training. The Orioles are missing most of their young offensive core. The Rays and Red Sox haven’t had any debilitating absences, but both squads have been without important pieces.
Here’s a rundown of injury updates from around the division, starting with the reigning AL champs…
Toronto
- Trey Yesavage (shoulder) will make another rehab start on Tuesday at Triple-A. The goal will be 75 pitches, to “let him feel that one more time,” manager John Schneider told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Yesavage got up to 71 pitches in his outing with Buffalo on Wednesday.
- Jose Berrios (elbow) will make his next rehab start on Wednesday. He threw 38 pitches in his first outing on Thursday. The righty was knocked around for five earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. Fellow veteran Shane Bieber (forearm) threw a bullpen on Friday. He was recently moved to the 60-day IL. To round out the rotation injuries, Cody Ponce underwent ACL repair surgery and hopes to return for Spring Training in 2027. (h/t to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic for listing the injuries in one post)
- On the hitting side, George Springer (toe) is still hitting but has yet to progress to running. The same goes for Addison Barger (ankles), though he’s expected to start running next week. Springer is on track to make it back before Barger and might not need a rehab assignment, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.
Baltimore
- Jackson Holliday is set to be in the lineup for High-A Frederick this weekend, the team announced. The infielder is recovering from a hamate fracture. He was recently pulled off the rehab assignment after experiencing wrist soreness at Triple-A Norfolk. Holliday had scuffled to a .167/.239/.214 line in 11 games with the Tides. The second baseman’s absence has led to the emergence of Jeremiah Jackson. The 26-year-old utilityman had a 151 wRC+ heading into Friday’s action. That’s likely to go up after a go-ahead three-run homer against the Guardians.
- Adley Rutschman ran, hit, and caught a bullpen session on Friday, relays Jake Rill of MLB.com. The catcher is nursing an ankle injury. Rutschman is eligible to return on Tuesday, but he might need rehab games first.
- Also from Rill, outfielder Tyler O’Neill is not ready to return from the 7-day concussion IL. He’s been out since April 8. “Still has some boxes to check and go from there,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously, with a concussion, it’s very touch and go.”
Tampa Bay
- Right-hander Edwin Uceta is still experiencing issues with his shoulder, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll be shut down for the next few days. After a pair of scoreless frames to begin his rehab assignment, Uceta has allowed three earned runs on six hits over his last two appearances.
- Gavin Lux was trending toward a Triple-A return on Friday, Topkin noted yesterday. However, the former Dodger was not in the Durham lineup tonight. Lux is working his way back from a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Saturday after injuring his ankle.
Boston
- Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com ran through several health updates for the Red Sox. Right-hander Kutter Crawford hasn’t resumed throwing and might require an MRI following elbow soreness. He missed all of 2025 with knee and wrist injuries. Crawford gave up five earned runs over three innings of work in his first rehab outing on Saturday. He reported the elbow issue shortly after.
- Reliever Justin Slaten will not return from his oblique strain when first eligible on Monday. He’s just now resuming throwing, relayed manager Alex Cora. It’s unclear when Slaten will progress to a rehab assignment.
- Left-hander Patrick Sandoval is slated for another rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A. He’s coming back from UCL surgery. Sandoval has thrown 63 and 59 pitches in his first two rehab outings.
- Sandoval’s teammate with Worcester, Tyler Uberstine, was placed on the IL with shoulder soreness. The righty was promoted earlier this season when Johan Oviedo went down with an elbow strain. Uberstine allowed a run over 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut, taking the loss against the Padres.
- Romy Gonzalez, the lone update on the hitting side, has yet to resume baseball activities. He underwent shoulder surgery in March. Gonzalez is on the 60-day IL and won’t be back until the end of May at the earliest.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images