The Toronto Blue Jays provided a generally optimistic injury update on starting pitcher Shane Bieber on Friday morning. The right-hander, who has been slowed in camp by forearm fatigue, will work to get back on a mound next week in preparation for his season debut.

However, the news on right-hander Jose Berrios was not as good, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

José Berrios (elbow inflammation) will visit Dr. Meister on Tuesday, John Schneider says.

Meister has viewed the MRI. This will be for an in-person evaluation. #BlueJays

Any time that someone goes to visit Meister, the situation is troubling. However, it's even more troubling in this case considering that Berrios ended the year on the injured list in 2025 because of elbow issues. He was also just denied insurance coverage to go participate in the quarterfinal round of the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico. It's unclear if that insurance issue was related to the 2025 injury, or if a physical this time around caught an issue again.

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 recent injury news doesn't elicit a whole lot of confidence moving forward.

Ironically, Berrios has been remarkably healthy for the entirety of his career, making 30 starts or more in each of the last seven full seasons. He also made a full 12-start slate in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

He has pitched at spring training for the Jays without issue to this point. He's tossed 10.2 innings over three outings. He's posted a 3.38 ERA, striking out seven batters and walking four.

All of a sudden, the idea that the Blue Jays had too much pitching heading into the season is being severely tested. Toronto has already lost Bowden Francis for the season to Tommy John surgery and Bieber is destined to start the year on the injured list. Factor in the Berrios injury and the slow ramp up of Trey Yesavage, and Toronto is left without a lot of answers.

Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer are set to take up four spots. If Berrios is hurt, look for Eric Lauer to potentially piggyback off Yesavage.

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