Blue Jays To Be Without Right-Hander José Berríos As He Hits the IL
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The Toronto Blue Jays have already clinched a playoff berth, but they still want to win the division. That has gotten increasingly more difficult over the past week or so, as their lead in the American League East has all but evaporated.
Up three games on September 19, the Blue Jays entered Wednesday tied with the New York Yankees for first place. The Jays went 4-6 over their last ten, while the Yankees got hot and won five out of their last six games.
Prior to Thursday's game against the Boston Red Sox, manager John Schneider told reporters that veteran right-hander José Berríos would be hitting the injured list, according to The Athletic's Mitch Bannon.
Berríos Hits the IL for the First Time
José Berríos has been a big leaguer since 2016. He's started at least 30 games in all but his first two big league seasons, and the shortened 2020, and this will be his first career stint on the injured list.
One of the most reliable starters in baseball over the years, Berríos is a two time All-Star who is going to give at least 170 innings year in and year out. The last time he was on the IL in professional baseball was in August of 2014 with the now defunct Double-A New Britain Rock Cats.
According to John Schneider, Berríos has an elbow injury that is "something he's been dealing with for a while." He will have an MRI with the results back by tomorrow at the latest.
2025 has been one of the tougher seasons of Berríos' career. For the first time, he had been moved to the bullpen and won't make 32 starts in a season for the first time since 2017.
The right-hander had thrown 166 innings of 4.17 ERA baseball along with a 7.5 K/9 and 1.301 WHIP. His 3.0 BB/9 is the highest it's been since 2020.
While he does have a 1.5 bWAR, his 102 ERA+ is the second lowest in his career in a season with at least 20 starts. The lowest was 74 in 2022.
The injury is a tough blow, especially at a time like now. Chris Bassitt is still injured and won't return until the ALDS at the earliest, according to Bannon. Even though Berríos was in the bullpen, that leaves them without two veteran starters should the Jays need them.
They'll now have to rely on their ace Kevin Gausman, as well as prospect Trey Yesavage and newly acquired Shane Bieber. They seem to be in a good spot with those three, but a team needs all the depth they can get in the postseason.
Right-handed reliever Paxton Schultz will take Berríos' spot.
