The Toronto Blue Jays hurler will miss the rest of the season - and then some.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios ended up needing more than a surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right elbow on Wednesday: As noted by Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, Berrios underwent a fully Tommy John surgery that will cost him the rest of the season - and more.
Berrios was on the injured list with elbow issues for the final month of the 2025 season and missed the team's run to the World Series, but he was able to pitch for most of spring training until going down with a stress fracture.
He made a handful of rehab starts and looked ready to come back to the rotation until being sidelined again.
Shi Davidi of Sportsnet notes that the stress fracture ended up causing the ligament damage.
So what does it all mean?
1) On the simplest level, it means that the Jays are down another option in already-depleted rotation. Max Scherzer, who has an ERA of 9.64, now becomes more important as he rehabs from his own injuries. He would seem likely to re-assume a spot in the starting rotation when he's healthy.
It also means that Patrick Corbin is probably safe in the rotation for a while.
If and when Shane Bieber returns, there will be a new round of decisions to make, but Bieber hasn't even begun a rehab assignment from his own forearm fatigue that has kept him sidelined since spring training.
2) On a longer-term level, it means that Berrios is going to opt-in to his 2027 contract with the Jays, which will see him get paid $24 million. He's also under contract through 2028. Given this injury, we may not see him until then.
About Berrios
Now 31 years old, Berrios is a 10-year veteran of the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays. A two-time All-Star, he's 108-82 lifetime with a 4.08 ERA.
After a solid season in 2024, he regressed in 2025, going 9-5 with a 4.17 ERA. He's still a big loss for the Blue Jays, as (ironically) his durability is some of the best in baseball.
He had made at least 30 starts in seven consecutive full seasons and he also made a full 12-start workload in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Up next
The Blue Jays and New York Yankees will play again on Wednesday night with first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m. ET. The Jays have lost each of the first two games of this series and will send Trey Yesavage to the mound as they attempt to get back into it. He's 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA while Cam Schlittler is 6-1 with a 1.35 ERA for New York.
Armed with an upper-90s fastball, Schlittler looks like one of the best pitchers in the American League in just his first full season.
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