On Monday, MLB Network insider Jon Morosi mentioned that Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios could end up pitching in the World Baseball Classic despite the insurance issues that plagued him when the rosters were released.

That was confirmed on Tuesday as the WBC announced that Berrios has been put in the designated pitcher pool (DPP) for Puerto Rico.

As noted by the WBC:

The way the DPP works is that each federation can place up to six pitchers on the list as potential arms to call up after the initial round. Teams can replace up to four pitchers following the first round and then up to two pitchers after the quarterfinal. These players can replace one of up to four arms that the team had previously marked as a potential substitute.

A 31-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Berrios is a 10-year veteran of the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays. A two-time All-Star earlier in his career, he's gone 108-82 with a 4.08 ERA. Largely durable, he's made 30 starts or more in his last seven full seasons, and he also made 12 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season (60 games).

He ended the season on the injured list in 2025 and did not appear in the playoffs, and he reportedly wasn't happy about not being included on the World Series roster.

It's been largely assumed that he'll be relegated to the bullpen in 2026 after the team signed both Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce this offseason. However, there's an opportunity for him to step back into the rotation if there's an injury or if the team wants to help protect the workload of rookie Trey Yesavage.

Morosi said he thinks that Berrios will be a starter at the outset as long as he has a good spring.

The World Baseball Classic begins on March 5 and the following Jays will be participating:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic)

Kazuma Okamoto (Japan) 

Yariel Rodriguez (Cuba)

Alejandro Kirk (Mexico)

Ernie Clement (Team USA)

Andres Gimenez (Venezuela)

RJ Shreck (Israel)

CJ Stubbs (Israel)

Adam Macko (Canada)

Leo Gimenez (Panama)

Willis Cresswell (Great Britain)

Ismael Munguia (Nicaragua)

Japan captured the 2023 World Baseball Classic by beating Team USA in the gold medal game. Japan captured titles in 2006, 2009 and 2023. The Dominican Republic won in 2013 and Team USA won in 2017.

Those three teams enter the tournament as the favorite again this spring.

Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!