The Toronto Blue Jays lost 4-3 against the New York Mets on Monday afternoon in Grapefruit League action, and no, Bo Bichette didn't play against his former mates.

Veteran right-hander Jose Berrios did play, starting the game for Toronto. He went 2.2 innings, throwing nearly 50 pitches in total. He gave up two earned runs on three hits, walking one and striking out two. 

Berrios is slated to be the No. 5 starter at the beginning of the season because of the injury to Shane Bieber. When everyone is healthy, Berrios is likely going to be a long-relief option in the bullpen. Same as Eric Lauer.

Speaking with reporters after the outing, Berrios made an interesting revelation about his health in 2025, as noted by Hazel Mae on social media.

Jose Berrios on his spring debut:

*had doubts about elbow last spring, no doubts this yr

*threw a few good FB's, on both sides of the plate, and also top of the zone.

* missed few close sinkers

* plan was to throw between 50-55 pitches.. threw 47 and another 13 in the bullpen

Berrios has been remarkably durable in his career, but he did go on the injured list at the end of 2025 because of elbow inflammation. He missed the team's playoff run. Manager John Schneider said he wasn't aware of any elbow issues last spring.

Asked John Schneider if he was aware of Jose Berrios' elbow concern last spring:

"Jose's been around long enough.. knows when he's good to go and kind of pull back.. if there was ever a point we didn't feel safe or feel good about him throwing, we wouldn't have."

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. His ERA was better than his FIP (4.65), suggesting that some regression to the mean is possible, which is bad news for him and the organization. He only struck out 138 batters in 166.0 innings. And the injury news at the end of the season doesn't help.

Berrios is under contract for the next two seasons and there's been talk of the team trading him, but with Bieber injured, his role is more important moving forward.

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